As I gather photographs to share for this week’s #FriFotos theme of Great Britain, I look back to a #FriFotos in June (June 26, 2015 to be exact) when the theme was Advertising. I shared a few photos from my travels in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Stockholm along with a photo from closer to home in Hermosa Beach, California. I like to snap quick photos of ads when I’m traveling – it is always interesting to me to see how ads for global brands are often the same as in the United States but in a different language. It is also interesting to spot ads that are unique to the region I am visiting.

In the Spring of 2006, I visited China for the first time. Tiananmen Square was a short distance from our hotel, and as an Olympics fan, I was excited to see this large clock counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the start of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. As you can see from the bottom of the clock, it is also an advertisement for Omega watches, the official timekeeper for the games.

Countdown to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in Tiananmen Square

On this street near our hotel, I was interested to see big signs adverting stores and products, much like you would see in other large cities (New York, for example), around the world.

Street advertisements in Beijing.

I took the subway back to my hotel and saw this advertisement for the cosmetics company Estée Lauder.

Beijing subway ad for Estee Lauder.

During my 2006 trip to China, I also was in Hong Kong for a few days. The signs in Hong Kong reminded me of the huge billboards in New York City. Here is a large ad on the side of a building for Konica Minolta.

Huge street ads in Hong Kong.

Switching continents to Europe, I was struck by this simple ad in Stockholm, Sweden. It says, “Where is the clock?”

Simple ad in Stockholm, Sweden.

In the United States, it is impossible to attend a professional sporting event without seeing advertisements. The AVP beach volleyball tournaments are no exception. There are many ads courtside, especially in the courts with larger stands. This is a photo from the Hermosa Beach Open several years ago. Olympic gold medalists Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May Treanor are on the far side of the court (Misty is leaping for the ball here), playing against Nicole Branagh (I think). There are advertisements everywhere – courtside, on the tents, even on the net!

AVP Beach Volleyball has ads alongside playing courts.

Here is a favorite photo from Vancouver (full disclosure – I did not share this on Twitter on the #FriFotos day). My colleagues and I always had a laugh at the Dos Equis “most interesting man in the world” ads and commercials, so when I saw this on a bus stop in Vancouver, I had to take a photo to share it with them.

Stay Thirsty my friends.

New to #FriFotos? Here’s a quick guide on the rules by Jeffrey Epstein.

#FriFotos was started on 15 October 2010 by Jonathan Epstein (@EpsteinTravels). Jonathan is the President and Owner of Celebrated Experiences, a company focusing on travel to the UK and Ireland. He is passionate about photography, his favorite hobby. Each week Jonathan cohosts #FriFotos with Stephanie Diehl (@TravelDesigned), Charles Yap (@CharlesYap), and Spencer Spellman (@SpencerSpellman). Jeffrey Epstein (@jeffreyinmotion), CEO of HBIM was a key advisor in the creation of #FriFotos and continues to assist in the Forum’s growth and success.