Burma-Shave’s roadside advertising campaign was famous for its sequential rhyming signs, commonly called Burma-Shave signs.
Starting in 1925, the company placed sets of small signs along roadsides, with each sign carrying one line of a short rhyme. Drivers encountered the lines in order as they traveled, and the final sign usually delivered the brand name or a humorous conclusion. The format turned ordinary road travel into a serialized advertising experience.
Burma-Shave was a brushless shaving-cream brand made by the Burma-Vita Company. Its signs became especially widespread in the United States before the Interstate Highway System and modern roadside restrictions changed the visual landscape. Some later sign sets promoted road safety rather than the product itself.
The campaign is sometimes confused with slogans printed on a single billboard. Its defining feature was the sequence: multiple signs spaced along a route, requiring motorists to read them over time. That technique made the advertisement memorable without relying on radio, television, or a large roadside display.