(by Janet Christian medium.com February 12, 2023)
Once upon a time, thousands of billboards lined the highways in Spain. Over 200 of those were El Toro de Osborne (the Osborne bull), giant ads for Grupo Osborne S.A. (Osborne Group), a purveyor of wines, spirits, and food products. Although the bulls began as an advertising campaign for sherry, nobody could have imagined that they would become the unofficial symbol of Spain.
Osborne was founded in 1772 by Thomas Osborne Mann, an English shopkeeper from Exeter who moved to Cádiz to trade in wines. It’s the second oldest company in Spain and one of the oldest companies in the world. Now over 250 years later, the company still enjoys international fame and recognition.
-History of the Osborne Bull-
In 1956, Osborne decided they needed an ad campaign to promote its Brandy de Jerez. They commissioned designer Manuel Prieto, who came up with a simple but effective design: a silhouetted black bull with the words Veterano Osborne (Veteran Osborne) stenciled on it.
In 1957, the very first billboard, 13 ft (4 meters) high and cut from a single piece of wood, was placed in Cabanillas de la Sierra (Madrid). In the years that followed, José Antonio Osborne and José Luis Gómez Bermúdez toured around Spain looking for the perfect sites for more “bullboards”.
By 1961, construction was changed to sheet metal to better withstand weather conditions. They also increased in size, up to 23 ft (7 meters) high, making them easier to see.
In 1962, Spain passed a law that prohibited advertising billboards within 20 meters (66 ft) of a road. The Osborne bullboards were moved back, and their size was increased again. The giant billboards were an engineering marvel, an immense scaffolding structure standing 14 meters (46 ft) high and weighing 4100 kilos (9000 pounds).
In 1974, the signage law was updated to require all advertising billboards be moved to a distance of 125 meters (410 ft). The bullboards were moved again but not increased in size. Even from that distance, the bullboards were easy to see, thanks to their massive size.
It can be hard to tell the size of the massive bullboards, but compared to these giant windmills, their size is unmistakeable.
-End of an era… or not-
The Osborne bulls were threatened with extinction in July 1988 when Spain passed a law that totally banned commercial advertising on national roads, and mandated that all existing billboards be removed. According to the law, violators could receive fines of up to a hefty ₧25,000,000 (pesetas), about €150,000 at that time.
Instead of removing their billboards, however, Osborne used black paint to completely obliterate the billboard’s text, leaving a solid black bull. This worked for six years, but in 1994, the Spanish government deemed this gesture insufficient for compliance with the law. They said that even with no writing, the structure constituted an advertisement because the bull had become such a widely known and powerful symbol, and Spaniards interpreted the silhouette as a commercial poster promoting the interests of Osborne liquor. Spain’s Council of Ministers fined Osborne, but kept it to the lightest fine permitted by the law: ₧1,000,001 (about €4300 at the time). They also ordered Osborne to tear down the bulls.
However, Spanish citizens had a different idea. There was a massive Save the Bull campaign, including petitions signed by thousands of citizens, as well as support from artists and intellectuals. The initial and most convincing defense of the Osborne bull appeared in leading newspaper ABC in December 1989. Author Antonio Burgos’ words reached almost poetic heights in his plea to preserve the Osborne bull as a national icon. In an article entitled Pardon for a Bull, Burgos (1989) emotionally articulates the case to retain the bullboards.
The bull, like so many advertising symbols, formed part of the Spanish countryside. Foreigners take away memories of the Escorial, the Giralda, the Acueduct, the thigh of a dancer in a flamenco show…and the Osborne bull, seen from an air-conditioned bus.
In this Spain, which destroys the landscape, which degrades cities, the Osborne bull camped out in the heights of a hill, was a landmark, indicating to us where we were…. Our highways increasingly appear like those of Los Angeles or Frankfurt. They have become impersonal, and there scarcely remains to us the humanity of an inn with some trucks parked at the entrance, which serves unforgettable fried eggs with chorizo.
In this Spain, which by jolts and haste is contributing so much to Europe, without receiving anything in return, we must preserve the Osborne bull. Just as bullfights are preserved, although in Brussels they might be upset [aunque en Bruselas digan misa]. This bull must be pardoned and left as an advertising stud, lest we become a colony of Madison Avenue. Although I believe that we already are.
The author’s argument in favor of the bull, on the grounds of conserving something of Spain’s distinctive identity, coupled with the public outcry, did the trick. In December 1997, the Court “pardoned” the bullboards from destruction.
According to the judgment itself, the Osborne bull “exceeded its initial advertising sense” and the “artistic Toro silhouette” had indeed become an integral part of the Spanish countryside and “part of the cultural and artistic heritage of the people of Spain”. All brand identification had to be removed, but the bull itself could remain. (In spite of the “gentrification” of the billboards, Grupo Osborne S.A. was allowed to maintain the sole and exclusive usage rights to that specific bull shape. The court recognized the brand status as a registered trademark.)
-The “bullboards” today-
The Osborne bull continues to be the only advertising structure permitted on Spanish roads. Today there are just 92 bullboards left, scattered across almost every part of Spain. In 2011, they were ruled as protected and an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).
The Osborne bull is also recognized internationally. An Osborne bull has recently been installed in Japan and others decorate the landscape of countries as varied as Mexico and Denmark .
The iconic silhouette has received multiple awards and has been the focus of numerous cultural and artistic activities. In 2000, it received the AUS Award and in 2003 the Development and Decorative Arts partners chose it as the most representative design of the twentieth century. It has recently been decorated and interpreted by 50 international personalities on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. It has also been featured in numerous exhibitions devoted to graphic design.
In spite of (or perhaps because of) their historical significance, a bullboard is occasionally vandalized, usually by anti-bullfighting activists or Catalan separatists.
Other bullboards are repainted in protest or support of various causes. For example, on May 18, 2017, the bullboard in Santa Pola (Alicante province) was painted over in the style of Guernica, Picasso’s famous anti-war mural (on display in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid). The artist was the anonymous Sam3, often referred to as “Spain’s Banksy”, who painted the image to protest bullfighting.
Bullboards have been covered in rainbow stripes in support of LGBTQ rights, painted in sky blue to promote environmental issues, and painted with various words and slogans for specific causes. Some bullboards suffer damage through nothing but strong seasonal winds. The Osborne Group remains responsible for the signs and takes on the job of repairing/repainting them.
The famous silhouette is found today on much more than just roadside signs. You can buy pretty much anything featuring that logo. I’ve even seen one as a tattoo.
https://www.zings.es/gb/250-osborne-bull
The products at the link I included are licensed by The Osborne Group, but not all are. In fact, Osborne at one point tried to sue companies making products using the iconic shape without their permission. In July 2005, a high court ruled against Osborne, stating “the accused manufacturers were entirely unaware that the Osborne bull actually was the property of any private company”. This legal decision emphasizes just how deeply ingrained and nationally significant the symbol of the Osborne bull silhouette has become in Spain today.
To celebrate its sixtieth anniversary the Osborne Group put together a museum called Toro Gallery with many unique art pieces featuring the bull, done by famous artists, including Salvador Dalí, Annie Lebovitz, and Keith Haring. The museum is located in Puerto de Santa Maria, Cádiz.
We didn’t learn about the Osborne bull until we moved here and drove past one that’s between our local city of Gandia and Valencia. I’ve been fascinated with them ever since. It touched me to learn just how beloved they are for most Spaniards, and how much they are a part of many childhood memories. One native Spaniard said:
The Osborne Bull became a point of reference, for those of us who were too young, we did not know how to interpret the signs of the roads, and we had no idea if X kilometers, to get there, was a lot or a little. However, as soon as you saw an Osborne Bull, the attitude changed, you already knew with millimeter precision, how many minutes, and even, how many curves were left to reach the end of the journey, or to the next milestone.
Today, both tourists and Spanish children still love to watch for them and be the first to exclaim, “There’s one!” This is one between us and Madrid, and yes, I did say, “There’s one!”
Next time you’re visiting Spain, or even if you live here, keep an eye out for the bulls as you move about. And don’t forget to point and call out before others in your group!
https://medium.com/@JanetCh/the-osborne-bull-the-most-famous-bull-in-spain-c7b1dd385298
