Winning entry in billboard contest will get to see her handiwork everyday

They’re practically everywhere — those billboard ads written as notes and signed, “With love, XOXO Philadelphia.” But the newest one won’t be penned by a clever advertising writer. Over 2,500 people from 42 states submitted ideas.

The Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation posted the winners and nine runners up in an online video.

Here’s a few samples:

“Dear Visitor,

Bell is broken. Please knock.

With Love,

Philly.”

“Dear Philadelphia,

You’ll always be my first.

With Love, America.” And number one?”Dear Philly,

You had me at yo.

Love, Mary K.” Mary Krause came up with the winning idea on a whim–in fact, she thought about going back and changing her entry. “But I never did. And apparently I didn’t need to,” she said.She lives in Port Richmond and works in customer service for a tech company. “We’ve got great restaurants, great museums, great sports — but the fact that we can walk around in the same places that Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson did is just unbelievable,” she said. “You really can’t beat that.” The billboard will go up next week on I-95 by the Girard Avenue exit. On her way to work, Krause drives by it every day.