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I block all ads on my devices, don't watch tv live, etc but I do like outdoor advertising. It's different. All the loathing here is a little surprising. From g
by blfr 11y ago
I block all ads on my devices, don't watch tv live, etc but I do like outdoor advertising. It's different. All the loathing here is a little surprising.
From guerilla stickers on the bus and posters on construction site fences to entire buildings wrapped, complete with props (like a car hanging from the side) it makes cities look alive. LED signs, especially the larger ones capable of showing graphics, and (my personal favourite) proper, old-school neons make cities look like cities. Billboards cover unfinished structures or designs from architects who should have never been licensed.
Maybe it's all the crappy communist architecture here but even places that evolved more naturally generally gain. Sure, there are some old towns, picturesque villages and so on but that is nowhere near the majority of the space inhabited by people.
- zyxley 11y agoIn my city, I've only ever seen billboards mounted directly on building walls (there's probably some local law involved but I have no idea what), which means that they're usually covering up a big, drab windowless expanse of brick or concrete. I rather like the result compared to the alternative.
- ttp 11y agoA blank wall is not the only alternative, that space could be used for public art which is much preferable to a visual designed specifically for corporate promulgation.
- dragonwriter 11y agoDepends on the public art: globally, much of that is government propagandizing its subject population (subtly or not) in a way which is no better -- and potentially much worse -- than typical corporate advertising.
- abdullahkhalids 11y agoPolarized sunglasses sometimes cut out advertisements displayed on screens. http://imgur.com/doze8mP http://imgur.com/doze8mP Maybe we can legally enforce all large public ads to be polarized so that those who wish to not see them can put on a pair of glasses.
- philwelch 11y agoSao Paulo banned outdoor advertising a few years ago and most people there thought it was an improvement. Sorry for linking to Buzzfeed but this is the only link I could find with good before-and-after shots: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/sao-paulo-the-city-with-no-outdoor-advertising#.uiP0YmaQ1 http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/sao-paulo-the-city-with-no-ou...
- danjayh 11y agoThought I was going to like the ad-free, but it turns out I actually like the 'before' shots better. Maybe there's a happy medium?
- wldcordeiro 11y agoIt would be better if they actually took down the billboards and not just the ads that were hung on them.