After 10 year's proclaiming Yahoo! as "A nice place to stay on the Internet", the web giant's bright, flashy, Interstate 80-adjacent billboard will no longer be be distracting drivers headed for the Bay Bridge starting in December. Probably indicative of Yahoo's state of affairs, or the dotcom industry at large, the San Francisco Egotist confirms that the longstanding Yahoo! ad will disappear to make way for new advertisers in the next two weeks.

Steve Stone, one of the advertising geniuses behind the board describes the creative inspiration and some failed concepts for the billboard:

Someone reminded me the other day that there was an idea that shot fire into the sky. I don't remember that one. My partner and co-creative director at the time, Bob Kerstetter, and I saw the idea [Art Director Aaron Allen] had and we instantly loved it. It was a distinctive, permanent piece that had a physical element which instantly set Yahoo! apart from the other dot.coms who were putting up boards on the 101 pre-IPO.

It's really too bad they never sprung for the fire-breathing model. Anyhow, for more nerding out about outdoor advertising or reminiscing about the heady days of dotcom 1.0, check out the Egotist's full interview with the creative minds behind the sign.

Hat tip: SFAppeal