Watch this Space!

(David Bernstein, 2004. Advertising Outdoors: Watch This Space! Phaidon Press)

'Encounters [of advertising] may be distant and fleeting (though advertisers hope the message is neither). They are always moving - you pass it, it passes you, the two of you move together' p.09

'Outdoor advertising is a means of extending a national TV or press campaign to a locality. Location is one of the medium's main strengths. The advertisier knows where the consumer is at the moment of impact.' p.63

'For those advertisers needing to be seen to be international, outdoor ads provide immediate evidence. They say 'we're here, we're important, 'we're part of the local scene, we offer the same values worldwide' p.207

This book discusses outdoor advertising as where advertising began, it discuss in depth the history of outdoor advertising specifically through looking at the progression of the poster and billboard. The book provide countless examples of successful outdoor marketing and explores the industries progression and innovations. In the section of the book which discusses the 'Future of outdoor' and 'Beyond the Billboard' it becomes how far technology has come since this book was published in 2004. Bernstein mentions the introductions of digital billboards which are now commonplace in cities around the world, it's clear with the development of smart phones, and social media that advertising has become much more interactive.   

'Clearing the Air'

(Vincent, I 2007, 'Clearing the air of 'visual pollution'', Maclean's, 120, 44, p. 41, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 28 October 2013)

This is a short article which I found related to the 'visual pollution' of advertising in cities, it talks specifically about Brazil. The text describes how in Rio large Billboards have been banned to 'clean up' the cities and enhance the cities landscape. An interesting point is about the 'balance' of advertising being used in urban environments in order not to 'obscure' landscapes. 

I found some more information on São Paulo, the city which said no to invasive advertising, on Adbusters website: https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/73/Sao_Paulo_A_City_Without_Ads.html  

The reception towards the ban of outdoor advertising in the city could be said to be generally positive with the '70 percent approval' result from surveys of the cities residents. However an interesting point is when considering the argument against the ban people have commented that the city has actually lost vibrancy from the removal of bright, contrasting advertisements.  

Earlier this year (March 2013) an online petition named 'Bristol: the city that said no to advertising' targeted Bristol City council regarding banning billboards/advertising in public spaces. The petition was only signed by 831 people but it's interesting that there is an interest/action against excessive billboards in cities. 

 (http://epetitions.bristol.gov.uk/epetition_core/community/petition/1815)

'Brandscaping'

http://brandedcities.com

The website http://brandedcities.com offers solutions, using outdoor advertising, to help brands reach the 'ever-elusive consumer,' by creating advertisements which can't be simply skipped over or avoided. The Branded Cities network uses the term and method of 'brandscaping' where brand experiences are merged with people's lives. I found it shocking how the company is selling the point that people can't avoid these adverts and how they also describe outdoor spaces as a 'controlled environment.'

The website has a section called 'Just Branded' with examples of their work, such as huge adverts which can take up the entire wall of a building. It also features showcases of campaigns by brands such as Red Bull and McDonalds with numerous examples of outdoor advertising and 'digital domination' in locations such as Times Square.

 'Our stage, your show, take it outdoors'

The leading outdoor advertising company in the UK is 'JCDecaux' - further research

Reclaim the Streets

"Whether we were reclaiming the roads from cars, reclaiming buildings for squatters, reclaiming our voice from the deep dark depths of corporate media, or reclaiming our visual environment from billboards, we were always reclaiming. We want to Reclaim the Streets" (Klein, 2000, p.323)

'It is one of the ironies of our age that now, when the street has become the hottest commodity in advertising culture, street culture itself is under siege' (Klein, 2000 p.311)

'The events take culture jamming's philosophy of reclaiming public space to another level. Rather than filling the space left by commerce with advertising parodies, the RTSers attempt to fill it with an alternative vision of what society might look like in the absence of commercial control' (Klein, 2000 p.313)

(http://www.visiblecity.ca/index.php/interventions/83-reclaim-the-streets,  Christopher Smith)

The reclaim the streets movement is a resistant movement to reclaim public spaces, initially a reaction against car's, however, also a rebellion against corporate media invading the public environment. 

McDonaldlization - Predictability

The 'McDonaldization of Society' (1993) is a book written by George Ritzer, despite the title of the book the topic isn't solely about McDonalds it rather uses this as an example of the process of the term which focuses on consistency and rationalisation. 

A direct effect of McDonaldlization is predictability, when a brand uses a controlled or rationalised method to create a specific outcome the result will be familiar or predictable. This predictability is a notion which I think can be applied to outdoor advertising, when travelling to a different place or city we come to expect to see the exact same brands and consequently the same advertisements. An interesting point is the argument against predictability or familiarity, do we want to continuously want to be bombarded with the same repetitive imagery?  

(http://www.mcdonaldization.com)

(The McDonaldization of Society 6,  George Ritzer)

The Propaganda Model - Noam Chomsky

(The Propaganda Model: An Overview, www.medialens.org, 2010)

Chomsky's 'Propaganda Model' is used to explain how populations or the 'audience' are manipulated due to propaganda. Chomsky argues that there is a process of filtering which occurs in the media and explains that there are 5 filters which are used by the government or powerful media corporations to manipulate the messages the public see. This process of filtering information, I think, can be applied to advertising - Large corporations sell a product through the use of advertising, which carefully uses selective information to portray, which is generally accepted by the public as being the truth.

The two filters regarding advertising and 'flak are particularly interesting to me. Advertiser's are powerful and influential within the media, I think it's an interesting notion how those who cannot afford to advertise are left unheard. The word flak is used to describe a negative response (usually from the public) to a media statement. This can be in the form of letters, lawsuits or other action such as sponsors threatening to pull their advertising.

When considering 'flak' and advertising it makes me think about whether it could be used strategically, for example a shocking advertisement campaign could cause a negative public response which in turn can generate more advertising through the press.

Brandlism

http://brandalism.org.uk/about/project/

After doing some research regarding Banksy I came across the website 'Brandlism,' simliar to the work of the Billboard Liberation Front the group aims to reclaim outdoor advertising space. The activist group is inspired by the work of the dadaists, surrealists, and street artists, they use a variety of methods to subvertise.

Articles on the website make a convincing argument against outdoor advertising, it asserts how we should stop viewing advertising as a form of commercial communication and rather as visual pollution. A point which I found particularly interesting was the 'long-term' consequences of repetitive expose to advertising, Prof. Sut Jhally discusses the London Riots and how they turned in to a looting spree: 

Banksy

'The people who run our cities don't understand graffiti because they think nothing has the right to exist unless it makes a profit (...) The people who truly deface our neighbourhoods are the companies that scrawl their giant slogans across buildings and buses trying to make us buy their stuff. They expect to be able to shout their message in your face from every surface but you are never allowed to answer them back.'  (Banksy, Wall and Piece)

When researching the topic of outdoor advertising and different subversive strategies the act of graffiti could be considered an act of detornement, therefore, it seemed a relevant research point. An obvious key figure of this is the elusive, British, street artist, Banksy. The anonymous artist often uses outdoor walls as his canvas to create expressive images often conveying a political message (the work occupies a public space). In 1993 Banksy was first noted for his freehand graffiti, however, by the year 2000 Banksy had began using a stencil technique which became his distinctive and recognisable style (www.britannica.com). Below are some highlighted points from the text 'The True Counterfeits of Banksy - Radical Walls of Complicity and Subversion' by Eva Branscome which I thought raised some interesting points about Banksy's work and methods.   

Has Banksy become  'A glamorised subversive superhero'? I think it's interesting how prints of Banksy work are reproduced and sold, arguably they are consumed, replicas can be found everywhere from wall stencils to people having tattoos Banksy recognisable images. It could be considered ironic that  the work of someone who uses graffiti and public space as a method of subversion has been commercialised and commodified.   

Commercialisation of Public Spaces

Through carrying out my research I have become interested in the topic of outdoor advertising. I read  the thesis 'Public Spaces or Private Spaces? Outdoor Advertising and the Commercialisation of Public Space in Christchurch, New Zealand' (Jennifer Rose Molina, 2006) Which made me think about different points to research and arguments related to outdoor advertising and gave me an example of a case study method. It also reminded me of theories that could be relevant to this subject matter such as Focualt's research of power and Baudrillard's concept of Simulacra and Simulation. Below are some parts of the essay that I found interesting: