City of Johannesburg Cracks Down on Illegal Billboards From Big Brands

• The City of Johannesburg has ramped up its campaign against unauthorised outdoor advertising
• The city publicly named and shamed major companies whose billboards were found to be non-compliant, and tore them down
• The city's outdoor advertising revenue has jumped from just R4 million a year to nearly R100 million since the more aggressive approach began in December 2025

GAUTENG, JOHANNESBURG - Some of South Africa's biggest and most recognisable brands have found themselves on the wrong side of the City of Johannesburg's billboard crackdown. The Joburg Property Company publicly removed and named unauthorised advertising structures.

The campaign, called No to Illegal Outdoor Advertising, forms part of a broader bylaw enforcement drive led by Johannesburg city manager Floyd Brink. He made clear that compliance is not optional, regardless of the size of the brand involved.

How the crackdown works

The city has been dealing with illegal billboards for over a decade, but earlier efforts that relied on civil claims and criminal charges against offenders proved largely ineffective.

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The approach changed in December 2025. Brink, working alongside the Joburg Property Company, City Power, and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, began physically pulling down non-compliant structures and posting photos and videos of the offending billboards on social media.

Joburg Property Company CEO Musah Makhunga said that once the more aggressive enforcement began, many media owners came forward to formalise their arrangements with the city.

"We started from a base of about R4 million per annum, and we are now reaching close to R100 million," he said.

Big brands caught in the net

The Joburg Property Company has been posting regular updates on its enforcement activity, and the list of companies included many well-known brands. Netflix was called out this week for an illegal billboard promoting its series The Polygamist, with the JPC writing:

"The Polygamist has many relationships. Unfortunately, compliance isn't one of them."

On 5 June 2026, a WeBuyCars structure was taken down, along with billboards for Geely and GWM's Tank vehicle range. Previous enforcement actions targeted MTN, Absa, Jeep, Dis-Chem, Engen, eTV, Savanna, Chery, Naked Insurance and Coca-Cola.

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Brink pointed out that companies may not always be directly responsible, as they often use advertising agencies that then outsource to outdoor specialists. However, he made clear that this does not shield the brand from the consequences.

Makhunga warned that enforcement would continue to intensify.

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Source: Briefly News