All you need is love … on a billboard

Boiseans may have noticed two new billboards along Interstate 84 near Broadway. The message on each is simple: LOVE.

They are the 132nd and 133rd such billboards erected around the world as part of a social experiment, “Love on Every Billboard,” designed by John Pogachar of Walnut Creek, California.

Formerly of Spokane, Pogachar first launched the project there in 2018, and the two Boise billboards, funded by an anonymous resident, are the latest.

With a red background and white text, the billboard “just says ‘love,’ ” Pogachar told the Idaho Press, and the interpretation is in the eye of the beholder.

“It’s just love for you to use, however you want,” he said.

Idaho is the 14th state to host the billboards. They’ve gone up in Russia, Austria, New Zealand and other countries, as well. One in St. Louis recently appeared in a Jason Mraz music video for the American singer’s “Love is Still the Answer.”

The billboards are funded by donations. Sign companies, such as Boise’s Lamar, often offer discounted rates to Love on Every Billboard. Pogachar estimates about $300,000 has been spent on them.

“It’s never been about the money,” he said. “It’s about who we can share the message with, and we’ll never know for sure who is affected by it. There’s no way you could sit with a clipboard … and find out who saw the sign.”

One donation came from an anonymous Boise resident, who paid to bring the project to the City of Trees.

The donor said they want people to see the billboards and smile.

“I wanted to put it up to give people hope, to have something positive, especially in this last year,” they said. “Every day, I try to make a difference, and (I) hope that doing this made a difference to anyone who drives past.”

The donor said they’ve learned what’s most important in life: “It’s the people I love.”

Boiseans can expect the billboards to stick around for a few months. Meanwhile, the next destination for Love on Every Billboard is San Diego.

“It just keeps going anywhere people want to take it,” Pogachar said.