# License plates in car ads
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plates-in-car-ads/305118
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 23, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plates-in-car-ads/305118 "2005-05-23T17:40:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dhobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhobbs)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plates-in-car-ads/305118/1 "2005-05-23T17:40:33Z")
Why do they always black out the lisence plate in car ads? If there is some law that says they can’t show the plate why don’t they remove it? Instead they always have a plate on the back of the car but the plate is always the same color as the car. If you pause a commercial you can read the numbers on some of them.
Thanks.
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### Author:  [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plates-in-car-ads/305118/2 "2005-05-23T17:56:24Z")
My guess is that they feel it would look odd for there to be no plate at all, and they want you to focus on the car itself, and not why the car somehow looks wrong.
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### Author:  [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plates-in-car-ads/305118/3 "2005-05-24T02:37:59Z")
Also, a plate from Texas would look wrong to someone from New York. Masking them in the same color as the body (they’re only black on black cars, when I’ve noticed) eliminates the inciongruity of a missing plate and also keeps those Michigan or California Manufacturer plates from distracting those of us in the other states.
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### Author:  [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)
#### Post date: [May 24, 2005, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/license-plates-in-car-ads/305118/4 "2005-05-24T10:54:22Z")
I just noticed this phenomenon. As far as I can recall, cars in older commercials just didn’t have plates at all. Or am I wrong? Have painted plates always been there and I wasn’t observant enough?