More than 3,500 brown advertising signs are on German motorways, pointing out tourist attractions. A majority in the Straubing city council is in favor of tearing down the brown sign that has been pointing to the local zoo since 2001.
Supporters of the boards point to a study by the Harz University of Applied Sciences from 2019, according to which one in six people have spontaneously left the motorway because of one of the brown boards. The ADAC praises the boards as “local knowledge as you drive past” There is now also an ad-free audio guide application “Adventure Guide’ that provides information about the sights on the brown signs on the A7 and A 44. The number of food banks in Germany is also increasing, as is the number of people using them for emergency food aid, which is why there is now an app for the A 44 and the A 7, as well as the A 9 and A 10.. There are probably better advertising media than a documenta with a puzzling name, says the city of Kassel. The city of Borken also considers the boards to be a worthwhile advertising measure.