5 December 2025
Ibiza billboards have always been a huge part of the island’s nostalgia. That feeling of driving from the airport, Mediterranean heat on your face, windows down, music blasting and seeing all the club nights plastered along the roadside. It was and still is practically a rite of passage. Those billboards were the literal sign of excited anticipation as the holiday begins. And the butterflies in your belly? Very, very real.
Even today, billboards are still iconic when done well, not just in Ibiza, but globally. They capture attention in seconds, they set trends and they tell stories bigger than the space they’re printed on. Billboards remain a powerhouse for brand awareness because they’re impossible to scroll past, they dominate your eyeline, and when placed in just the right spot, they become part of people’s memories.
If someone had told 19-year-old me on my first holiday in Ibiza that one day I’d be responsible for the creative direction of some of those massive billboards, I wouldn’t have believed you.
Let me tell you, it happened….
So let’s talk about a few of ones I have creatively directed.
YOU BE THE JUDGE: My First Ever Billboard
Pukka Up – Dirty House Era
This was the first full brand campaign I was fully responsible for during my time as Brand and Events Manager with the brand Pukka Up and it was my first billboard ever. Back when “Dirty House” was the new genre on the dancefloor, we built an entire theme around it.
Enter: The Dirty Cops. Our entertainers who would “arrest” anyone who wasn’t having enough fun (Ibiza logic), they caused a stir during promotional moments and within the event itself.
So naturally the billboard featured:
- Good Cop
- Bad Cop
- Dirty Cop
A playful nod to a police line-up and little details to match, the Dirty Cop name board was in the brand’s signature pink, different attitudes to each one and of course the line up of DJ’s at the time were called ”The Judges”, and included Chris Lake, The Freemasons and Bodyrox.
All shot in a studio in Southend, briefed by me, shot by the amazing Marc De Groot and designed by the equally amazing Chris Jarvis. It was dripping in tongue-in-cheek attitude and was a little more commercial and fun than other billboards at the time and which suited the brand. I remember driving past it thinking:
“I’m in my 20s and I’ve got a billboard I helped create in Ibiza. I’m winning in my career”
FIESTA DEL AGUA:
Es Paradis’ Iconic Water Party Reborn
When Es Paradis asked me to refresh the promotion for their legendary water parties, which had taken a ‘dip’ in numbers (i’m not even apologising for that pun), one of my first moves was reinventing the artwork.
They’d always leaned more graphic, but Es Paradis was born in the 70’s and so I wanted to reflect that with something a little more retro and with a bit more personality. On an island so big with its contemporary photography and artwork I wanted something that would stand out from that to reflect the venue. So I went for a nautical pin-up theme — cliché? Maybe! The campaign, however, is still in use today so that feels like its own little longstanding legacy considering it was first launched in 2012.
I brought in a talented illustrator friend to create the sailor girl, and the theme rippled across everything:
- Entertainment
- The beach parade team (anyone remember those?!)
- Posters/Flyers
- Digital
- And the giant banner featured outside the venue
I also recruited Ibiza legends Jon Ulysses and Jason Bye onto the DJ lineup and so with a full brand refresh, strategic promotional campaign and a new DJ Line-Up suddenly the club was full again, week after week. It was incredible to see such a big turn-around.
THE RISE OF THE POOL PARTY
The O Beach Ibiza Movement
Clearly water was becoming a running theme in my career, because this sparkly beauty was for O Beach Ibiza, the island’s daytime pool party venue.
The goal?
Make the billboard pop as much as the venue itself, and shout loud and clear that this was THE daytime destination on an island dominated by nightclubs. I chose sequins that would sparkle under the Mediterranean sunshine to further highlight the venue’s biggest USP – the huge swimming pool (something very much needed in an Ibiza summer). At this stage brand awareness was still very key and highlighting what made it different was essential.
Being based in San Antonio we were working on increasing the brand’s international awareness so we placed this billboard in Playa d’en Bossa to hit those crowds in a way they couldn’t ignore. This photo doesn’t even do it justice with the grim grey skies. In person, it shimmered like it was part of the party.
A proud moment. And a very shiny one.
MUSIC IS LIFE, AND SO WAS THIS BILLBOARD
ON111 GOAL, ON111 DANCEFLOOR
This brand was born from collaboration between myself and my right-hand man and creative designer PETER BENNETT. Created for O Beach Ibiza with the aim of doing something a bit different: celebrating Garage, R&B and Hip Hop.
The heartbeat of the concept?
Unity on the dancefloor. Love. Freedom from Societal Constraints (a little nod to the different genres in a predominantly house-music island) and just being human together and having a good time.
Working with the owner Tony Truman we brought on legendary DJ Spoony, and for the billboard I wanted something that would really stand out in its debut year.
So we added a light-up heart-monitor effect to tie into our strapline: “Music is life, that’s why our hearts have beats.” A reflection of Ibiza’s global musical influence, the measurements of the beats and rhythm of music and to all those relationships (romantic or otherwise) that begin on a dancefloor in Ibiza and dancefloors across the world.
AN EMOTIONAL REUNION
After two devastating years for Ibiza’s hospitality industry, I wanted to create something meaningful and heartfelt. So working with Peter we created something simple post-covid. Something that felt like a big hug to everyone returning to the island.
So the message simply became:
WELCOME HOME.
Because that’s what Ibiza is for so many people, their second home. The magnetic pull of this island is unreal, and after two years away, returning felt spiritual. Ok it also featured the beach club and the party elements highlighted with a 4D dancer and our famous O as well as a reflective mirror effect but after a hiatus of parties and club culture it was the colourful cherry on the cake to get everyone excited about landing back.
We placed it where you’d see it the moment you left the airport. A warm and fun embrace from the island itself to all of the people we had missed.
THE ULTIMATE STRAPLINE
By 2024, O Beach Ibiza had conquered not just the British market but a growing global audience. And yet with big competition and small budgets I think it’s vital to never lose sight of who you are especially as you never know who’s seeing that billboard and you have to assume that the person looking at it may not know who you are so it has to be captivating and gain intrigue.
One of my gifts to the brand was the now-established strapline:
“We didn’t invent the pool party, we just perfected it.”
Cheeky. Confident. True.
Brought to life by our graphic designer Lucy with a burst of poolside imagery and O Beach’s famously extravagant entertainment, this billboard told a story instantly.
When you’re the benchmark, sometimes you’ve simply got to say it out loud and proud.
So…
So next time a billboard flashes by, pause for a beat… in Ibiza, even the adverts have a story to tell
Billboards aren’t just adverts here.
They’re part of the island’s story.
Part of Brand stories
And somehow, part of mine too.