Public health posters have a long history, usually produced in response to plagues or war, when governments wanted to protect soldiers and civilians. In peacetime the poster declined through the 20th century until the AIDS epidemic began around 1981, and governments, health agencies and advertising studios commissioned new campaigns. These posters were produced for more than 20 years, and some were still in use in the 2010s, even though the web was spreading quickly. Campaigns targeted groups including black teenagers, Chinese-speaking Canadians, students who took recreational drugs and lesbian mothers. Some designs were bold, such as the 'Stop AIDS' campaign's large pink condom, and one poster showing a fluorescent condom on the Washington Monument was never distributed. Paper posters lasted because they stayed visible on streets, in clubs and in support groups.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.