Flash forward. (The Roving Eye).

You know a billboard is successful when the building under it assumes the brand's identity.

Until a recent sponsorship shift, the mid-Wilshire edifice commonly known as the Asahi building fit this mold. Asahi Beer's recent displacement by a neon billboard for South Korea-based Samsung ends the reign of one of the most successful billboards in L.A. history.

"We accomplished our objective. After 12 years, everyone has seen it' said Shinya Miyata, chairman of ADK, the Los Angeles advertising agency that has handled Asahi Beer USA's account for more than 20 years.

Indeed.

"People recognize this building as the Asahi building, so some of our customers have mentioned they were surprised to see a new sign up," said Steve Gurgenidze, manager of Fast Frame, a business in the building.

Asahi chose the site because it was the only building in Los Angeles permitted to have a neon billboard, Miyata said. Mutual of Omaha, the insurance company, had originally received the city's approval.

Samsung, an electronics exporter that is often referred to as its country's Sony, has a chance to grab familiar eyeballs -- La Brea Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard sits close to the western edge of L.A.'s Koreatown. The new neon sign may even feel reminiscent of Seoul to some, where neon Samsung signs shine on seemingly every corner.

"You cansee that building from Hollywood. There's no other tall buildings in the area," Miyata said.