People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.
You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.
Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.
You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.
I find it wild to go to a different country where they have different laws where there are so many more billboards. It’s already bad here but seeing how it could be even worse is insane.
They can be pretty funny though. I saw one that said “LEPROSY IS COMPLETLY CURRBAL” and underneath there was a bit of space left so they drew a crude map of the T-junction nearby with names of where each street goes.
This is actually a thing for me. I hate having to see ads everywhere when going outside. Not one bus stop without tons of ads plastered around.
Reminds me of the “Banksy on advertising” quote:
It really is one of my favorite ones
edit: formatting
This must be one of the best things I have read on this topic! Thank you very much!
Holy shit that is amazing! God i love that guy…
I find it wild to go to a different country where they have different laws where there are so many more billboards. It’s already bad here but seeing how it could be even worse is insane.
Yeah. India is fucking wild when it comes to billboards. New York billboards looks pleasing to the eyes comparatively lol.
the worst part: polar glasses are useless against the banner ads.
And those can’t be hacked either.
Low-tech wins(?) again!
They can be pretty funny though. I saw one that said “LEPROSY IS COMPLETLY CURRBAL” and underneath there was a bit of space left so they drew a crude map of the T-junction nearby with names of where each street goes.
If it is working as intended it’s a straight up safety hazard (distracting attention, how many accidents ?)
Go lobby in your city, it worked in mine, no ads since many years
Seriously. There are places in the US where billboards are not allowed in any shape or form, and it’s glorious. Local civics matter.
Thats pretty awesome! How did you do it? I dont know where to begin.
I worry this would cause them to raise the fare