In the United Kingdom the majority of forms of outdoor advertising such as the display of billboards is controlled by the UK Town and County Planning structure. At present the display of an advertisement without permission from the Planning Authority is a illegal offense liable to a fine of £2500 per offence. All of the major outdoor billboard companies in the UK have persuasion of this nature.

Obviously, a lot of advertisers view governmental control or even self-regulation as interference of their freedom of speech or a necessary evil.

In a number of countries (New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and a lot of European countries) the advertising industry controls a system of self-regulation. Advertisers, advertising agencies and the media choose a code of advertising standards that they effort to uphold. The general objective of such codes is to make sure that any advertising is ‘legal, moral, honest and truthful’. Some self-regulatory associations are funded by the sphere, but remain severing, with the intent of keeping the standards or codes.

Such cities as São Paulo have introduced an absolute ban with the UK capital also having certain legislation to control unlawful displays.

Over the past fifteen years an entire science of marketing analytics and marketing efficiency has been developed to establish the impact of marketing procedures on consumers, sales, income and market share. Marketing Mix Modeling, straight reaction measurement and other methods are included in this science.

In the Unites States a great number of communities accept as true that a considerable number of forms of outdoor advertising can afflict the public realm. As long ago as the 1960s in the United States there were made some attempts to ban billboard advertising located in the open countryside.

There have been growing efforts to defend the public interest by the means of regulating the content and the influence of advertising. Some cases in point are: the ban on television tobacco advertising imposed in a number of countries, and the total ban of advertising for children under the age of twelve imposed by the Swedish government in the 1990s. Though that control continues in effect for broadcasts originating within the country, it has been diminished by the European Court of Justice, that had found that Sweden was obliged to accept outside programming, including those from bordering countries or via satellite.