School bus advertising is a form of

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

in the United States in which advertising space is sold on the sides of

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

es. School districts typically partner with a marketing firm to sell the space and market the program to businesses, Depending on the size and market of each individual school district, this form of advertising can be very lucrative. Scottsdale Union School District in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

expected to make $900,000 in three years, while a smaller school district of 4,100 students in Michigan anticipated $70,000 a year. Flancers-bus-ad-e1411756079565

As of 2011, the U.S. states that allow school bus advertising are:

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Arizona,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. A few other states allow interior adverts on school buses. In most U.S. states, law prohibits advertisements for alcohol, tobacco, religious organizations, as well as political ads or anything sexually explicit in nature. Most school districts have final approval of the ads. Each state has its own regulations regarding size, location and material of the ads. Texas, for instance, allows advertisements in three areas on the bus: 30" by 90" located on the left rear quarter panel below the windows, and 18" by 108" located on either side above the windows. Tennessee allows a 16" by 60" ad on both sides of the bus below the windows.

References

Further reading