The biggest "attention - grabber" off the field in the Scottish Premiership, silently pocketing 20 billion.

In ancient times, there was Cao Cao's "quenching thirst by thinking of plums"; nowadays, there are shopping malls' "relieving heat by looking at fans".

As high - temperature warnings continue to be issued, some shopping malls are playing images of "giant electric fans" on outdoor large screens, initiating a "mental cooling" mode. Netizens have commented: "They've chosen to have a joke instead of turning on the fans or air - conditioners."

For a while, shopping malls, railway stations, and subways across the country have started to join in the fun. Some have even thoughtfully set the virtual fans to the oscillating mode, creating a sense of coolness.

Even more incredibly, this "cyber cooling" event has evolved into a continuous drama.

As the temperature keeps rising, shopping malls are upgrading. If fans don't work, they turn to air - conditioners. And if one air - conditioner isn't enough, they use nine at once.

Netizens are also eager to join the interaction. In places like Wuhan and Changsha, it has become a new trend to take photos with a remote control in hand.

Behind the excitement, the outdoor LED large - screen industry has become the biggest winner. These iron boxes, once regarded as "billboards", are now becoming the most eye - catching and profitable super showplaces in the city.

According to the "2024 White Paper on the Digital Development of China's Outdoor Advertising", the annual revenue of LED large screens in the core urban business districts across the country has exceeded 20 billion yuan. The average monthly advertising revenue of a single screen in some leading projects exceeds one million yuan.

Why can the once dull and tacky outdoor large screens trigger a national frenzy?

National wits are showing their talents on the large screens

For a long time, the large buildings in core business districts and the large billboards on highways have formed our stereotypical impression of outdoor LED screens. Especially with the development of mobile networks, many people thought that outdoor large - screen advertising was on the decline.

Little did they know that the large screens once labeled as "tacky" and "outdated" have quietly become "internet celebrities".

Under the impact of Internet thinking on traditional large - screen advertising, outdoor large screens have long become a social square and a meme - creating ground for young people.

During the Jiangsu Super League, none of the LED large screens in cities across Jiangsu were idle.

While the players were having an intense match on the field, outdoor large screens in various places were also actively creating memes to support the teams. Overnight, the large screens in Jiangsu became the support bases for fans of the Jiangsu Super League, with the enthusiasm no less than that on the field.

This summer, large screens in various cities have become the "Internet mouthpieces" to fight against the high temperature, even more abstract than the cyber fans.

Seeing that it wasn't raining, Ningbo invited the Four Dragon Kings from "Journey to the West" to pray for rain online, and the animation of their "casting spells for wind, rain, thunder, and lightning" was looped on the large screen.

The shift of these city large screens from "selling products" to "selling memes" has also inspired netizens' enthusiasm for secondary creation, and the popularity of related topics on social platforms has soared.

Outdoor screens are not only a social currency for young people but also have been upgraded from urban advertising spaces to city business cards.

From Tokyo, New York, Shanghai to Chengdu, more and more giant LED screens have become city landmarks and the "traffic entrances" of the city.

For example, the naked - eye 3D large screen in Taikoo Li, Chengdu, can trigger a phenomenon - level discussion every time it plays a video. Now it has become a city landmark comparable to Tokyo's Ginza.

The large screen of "Mango VIDEO", the landmark colorful box of Hunan Radio and Television, has stood out from 217 competitors across the country and become the Chinese urban landmark media in 2025.

In addition, LED large screens are also the "golden signboards" for boosting the night - time economy and attracting tourists.

For example, the connected LED screens in Qianjiang New City are the originator of China's urban light shows. With 35 buildings, 700,000 LEDs, and 16 million colors, they form a 2.3 - kilometer - long scroll, which is a must - visit tourist attraction.

Last year, Qingdao also made the Fushan Bay light show a "must - do" for tourists. During the tourist season, there was a continuous stream of people enjoying the night - time lights in areas such as May 4th Square, the Third Bathing Beach, and the Olympic Sailing Center.

In this cyber fan event, the Yangtze River light show also joined in the fun. It "moved" electric fans onto the high - rise buildings along the riverbank. The combination of "temperature - 10°C" and "flying snowflakes" forms an infinite loop, creating a cool atmosphere.

Whether it's the province - wide support during the Jiangsu Super League or the city - to - city relay of "cyber fans", they have all invisibly triggered an Internet frenzy, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of the evolution of outdoor large screens.

Two forces are behind the transformation of tacky screens into internet celebrity check - in spots

Although outdoor large screens are so cool now, they had a tacky image when LED screens first appeared.

The earliest applications of LED screens were traffic signs on roads and dynamic information display screens in stock trading markets, airports, and railway stations. At that time, LED screens were scarce and only used in public places.

Now, the ability of outdoor LED large screens to shed their tacky image and become top - notch attractions for young people to check in is thanks to two forces behind them.

The first force is the LED screen enterprises.

In the 1990s, display technology was restricted by European and American countries. Domestic LED displays could only show one color and were used to display basic information and data. It wasn't until the late 1990s that full - color LED displays appeared.

Entering the 21st century, Chinese enterprises began to make efforts in the LED screen field. They not only reduced the cost but also made the technology more mature.

China's LED display technology first gained international attention at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A slowly unfolding "Chinese scroll" shocked the world.

Currently, 8 out of the top 10 enterprises in the global LED display market share are from China. More than 80% of the world's LED displays are made in China.

The screen used at Adele's concert in Munich, Germany, with an area of 4,159.7 square meters, set a new Guinness World Record for the "world's largest outdoor LED screen". This screen uses LED panels from Raydium, a brand under Unilumin of China.

Driven by LED screen enterprises, technologies such as COB, Mini/MicroLED, 4K/8K ultra - high - definition, and XR virtual shooting are constantly innovating and developing. New products such as transparent screens, spherical giant screens, naked - eye 3D, and high - definition all - in - one machines are emerging in an endless stream, and the application fields of outdoor large screens are becoming more extensive.

If LED enterprises endow outdoor large screens with the ability to be creative, then the second force that makes outdoor large screens come alive is the content operators of outdoor large screens.

Compared with traditional outdoor advertising, the content on outdoor large screens is more vivid, and it's more convenient to change advertisers. However, due to the high cost, the vacancy rate once reached as high as 40%.

The turning point came during the National Day in 2020. A naked - eye 3D screen with an area of about 888 square meters and a resolution of up to 8K was built at the cross - road of Taikoo Li, Chengdu.

The debut of the "3D spaceship" video caused a sensation. Just on the Weibo platform, the view count reached 320 million. After that, this cross - road quickly became a new internet celebrity check - in spot in Chengdu, and a wave of naked - eye 3D screens swept across the country.

Before that, naked - eye 3D was also used in outdoor advertising, but the content was mostly monotonous, such as objects popping out of the screen and rotating, with serious homogenization.

The reason why this naked - eye 3D screen in Chengdu became popular is that it achieved the ultimate in visual impact, city characteristics, and innovative content. This screen was created by Chengdu Ruihe Mai Tian Advertising Co., Ltd. Its founder, Du Haiqing, had worked in the traditional advertising industry for more than a decade. In 2018, when there was a boom in large outdoor advertising screens in China, he wanted to create a large screen that could represent Chengdu's culture, so he spent two years polishing the content.