3. Cup Noodles
For a decade (1996 to 2006), a 60-foot Nissin Cup of Noodles decorated the top of the One Times Square building, the site of the annual New Year’s Eve Ball drop. In Times Square, advertisements notoriously compete for attention and need to do something unique in order to stand out.
Similar to the famous Camel cigarettes billboard (see next), this sign utilized steam, which would emanate from the top of the cup. According to the New York Times, the first Times Square sign to utilize steam was a New York City sign from 1992 that featured a steaming cup of A.& P.’s Eight O’Clock Coffee at West 46th Street.