24 Buc-ee's billboards most likely to make us stop in 2024, ranked

Devoted fans of Buc-ee's, the chain of giant convenience stores exporting the Texan ethos of size with bespoke beaver-themed products, probably know some famous figures about the company.

For starters, founder Arch "Beaver" Aplin III opened the first location in Lake Jackson, Texas, in 1982. The chain didn't open its first store outside Texas until 2019, when it came to Leeds, Alabama. Now, the store has 47 locations and counting across eight states in the Southeast, including two in Tennessee. It's even building a store in Colorado.

East Tennesseans might know that the largest Buc-ee's, a 74,000-square-foot store with 120 gas pumps, debuted in Sevierville in 2023 as the world's largest convenience store. It will soon be surpassed by a sprawling store in Luling, Texas, set to replace one that pioneered the large travel center model in 2003.

But a critical year in the story of Buc-ee's that most people don't know about was 2006. That's when the company teamed up with Houston advertising firm Stan and Lou to develop its sensational highway marketing strategy.

The centerpiece of that strategy was a bevy of billboards that riffed on other ad campaigns and hip-hop classics, adapted the Texas chain's brand of humor for other states and employed what your mother might call "potty humor."

Buc-ee's is proud of its expansive bathrooms, kept clean by a 24/7 staff of custodians, and the billboards prove it. They also embody a clever campaign tailored to the location of Buc-ee's along busy interstate corridors.

Now that it's officially 2024, here are the 24 smartest and funniest Buc-ee's billboards, ranked. Have you seen some of them?

24. Potty Like A Rockstar

This Buc-ee's billboard is certainly not a one-hit wonder, but the 2007 Shop Boyz song that inspired it probably was. You can find this toilet-themed stalwart at several locations.

23. Beavers at Work

If the thought of calling construction workers "beavers" – thereby folding the humanity of laborers seamlessly into a multi-million-dollar corporate brand – makes you uncomfortable, you might be a recent college graduate who read too much economic theory.

Either way, this billboard is one of many clever Buc-ee's alternatives to "coming soon."

22. I Like Big Buc-ee's And I Cannot Lie

Buc-ee's is a family-friendly place, but that's not always true of its source material. When Sir Mix-a-Lot released his 1992 masterpiece "Baby Got Back," he couldn't predict his most famous lyric would be fodder for a gas station advertisement decades later.

There aren't many small Buc-ee's to choose from, but some of its older locations in southeast Texas aren't much bigger than a regular convenience store.

21. Hello...Is It the Beaver You're Looking For?

Lionel Ritchie's 1983 hit "Hello" has been used in too many memes and ad campaigns to name. For Buc-ee's loyalists, the answer to this question is a resounding "yes."

20. Meat Me at the Jerky Station

There are several billboards that play on the wide range of meat selections at Buc-ee's, like "Risk It For the Brisket" or "Chop It Like It's Hot." This particular billboard wins out because it turns "meat" into an action verb and highlights the store's mind-boggling collection of "world famous" beef jerky flavors.

The "meat me" billboard can be spotted heading west on I-40 by the Crossville, Tennessee, location.

19. Don't Stay Thirsty My Friends

Dos Equis struck advertising gold with its "Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign, which sells the Mexican beer with a Bond-like character who implores consumers to "stay thirsty, my friends."

Well, Buc-ee's exposed a flaw with the catchphrase. Why stay thirsty when you can get whatever drink you want at one of the world's biggest gas stations?

18. If It Harms Beavers, We're Against It

One of the classic Buc-ee's billboards, this statement of belief pairs well with another billboard's declaration that Texas is "Beaver Country."

It turns out that's literally true. According to researchers at the University of Texas at Austin who named an ancient beaver species "Anchitheriomys buceei" after Buc-ee's, the animal has lived in Texas for millions of years.

17. Restrooms That Make Mom Smile

Buc-ee's knows that if Mom doesn't want to stop on a road trip, the car isn't stopping. It also knows that mothers probably appreciate clean bathrooms with short lines more than anyone else.

Honey, let's pull over! There's a Buc-ee's!

16. The Only Ten I See

Any brand that wants to grow beyond the state that made it famous has to prove its local bona fides if it wants to survive.

By using phrases like "Getting Buc-ee in Kentucky" and "The Only Ten I See," Buc-ee's has proved it's more than just a Lone Star State staple. The Tennessee pick-up line gets points for regional flair, if not for originality. You can spot this billboard on I-40 in West Knoxville heading towards Sevierville.

15. The upside down ones

Sometimes, the most eye-catching ads don't need words at all. These billboards show the beaver logo upside down, causing some highway double takes.

14. Tick Tock

In the internet age, teaser trailers and snippets of song lyrics capitalize on the anticipation of consumers.

In communities like Sevierville, Buc-ee's has used that strategy to remind locals they're about to get a big ol' store. "Tick Tock" might be one of the more ominous signs.

13. Where The Fun Never Sets

Buc-ee's is building no less than an empire, and like the British Empire at its peak, its stores aren't even affected by the setting sun. They bring the fun 24 hours a day.

12. Thirst Trap Ahead

Some internet terms are so enduring they enter the English lexicon. Merriam-Webster defines a "thirst trap" as "a photograph (such as a selfie) or video shared for the purpose of attracting attention or desire."

What better way to describe the sweet and salty sensory overload of a Buc-ee's or the cleverness of its highway ads?

11. No Games Here, Just Thrones

You can take your kids to Buc-ee's, but you probably shouldn't let them watch "Game of Thrones." Luckily, Buc-ee's isn't playing around with their bathrooms.

10. My Overbite is Sexy

Buc-ee's cartoon beaver mascot has some big buck teeth, and he's proud of them. On this billboard, the normally silent animal takes on a voice of his own.

9. Well-Kept Secret?

This meta Buc-ee's billboard comments on the success of the company's marketing campaign. "We're Either A Very Well-Kept Secret," it reads, and then in smaller letters, "Or Our Sign Fell Down Again."

Especially in the Southeast, Buc-ee's is nowhere near a secret.

8. You Can Hold It

This is more a series of billboards than a single one, and they ask something difficult of drivers. Can you hold it in for another 262 or 737 miles until the next Buc-ee's?

It's true that there are often long stretches of highway without a Buc-ee's, but that's changing as the company rapidly expands.

7. Sparkling Seats, Sparkling Streets

Buc-ee's takes pride in offering a slate of benefits to the communities where it builds stores, including improvements to roads. Toilets and highways aren't known for their cleanliness, but the company wants to change that.

6. Got Porcelain?

Is there an American ad campaign more iconic than the two words "got milk?"

Buc-ee's puts its own spin on it to remind consumers why they choose the company over other gas stations.

5. 1,039 miles

Once Buc-ee's finishes a new location in Amarillo, Texas, there will be an absurdly long stretch of I-40 between the Amarillo store and the next one in Crossville, Tennessee. This billboard is a smart way to remind consumers of the sheer stretch of the brand.

Can you hold it for 1,039 miles?

4. Yes It's Big. You Left Us No Choice.

Buc-ee's goes on offense with this billboard near a large store in Texas.

It's a fair question: are the stores so big because Buc-ee's wants them that way or because the insatiable American consumer demands it?

3. Eat Here. Get Gas.

This ad is either a two-step guide to utilizing Buc-ee's products or it's a warning about the side effects of Beaver Nuggets.

2. The viral "typo"

No single Buc-ee's billboard has attracted so much attention as one in Temple, Texas, that reads "You Had Me At Hodwy," appearing to misspell "Howdy."

The typo was no accident. In fact, the company said it was a "southern way to blend the words 'how did we' in order to talk quicker." They even spun it into a broader merchandising campaign, selling "Hodwy" shirts. You did well, Buc-ee's.

1. Top Two Reasons to Stop: #1 and #2

At the top of the list is another classic Buc-ee's double entendre that you can spot heading east on I-40 outside Knoxville just before the interstate merges with I-75.

What more is there to say? You know why you can't resist Buc-ee's.

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Got Porcelain? Bucee's best billboards and signs ranked