Signage

Since the 1920s, signage for fast food restaurants has been particularly important. Automobiles traveled quickly down highways and drivers and passengers could easily miss restaurants unless they were clearly marked with signs. Another means of visually attracting customers was through unusual architecture, such as upside-down ice cream cones, so that the building itself became a sign for a particular restaurant. White Castle was the first to recognize the importance of having all of its outlets similar in appearance so pass-ersby would easily recognize them.
Other chains, such as A&W Root Beer, did not have a common architecture and hence relied on signs to convey the fact that they indeed sold A&W root beer. Likewise, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchises at first did not have a common appearance. All that franchises were required to do was have put up an sign stating that they were a KFC restaurant and display a likeness of Colonel Sanders. Because small signs were hard to read from a passing automobile, large signs were the rule. At night, signs were difficult to read regardless of the size, so neon signs became common.
Many fast food signs were so large and outlandish that they alienated local residents who had to look at them regularly. President Lyndon B. Johnson successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Highway Beautification Act in 1965, which greatly restricted signs along highways paid for with federal funds. This and other local and state ordinances encouraged fast food chains to decrease the size and flamboyance of their signage as well as their building architecture.