A World without Outdoor Advertising

A scene from a popular movie recently prompted me to write a post about the use of outdoor advertising - especially on building exteriors. That particular movie scene featured Shanghai, a city that seems to fully embrace outdoor advertising. Since that post, another scene from another film has opened my eyes to the fact that some cities are taking back their skylines and landscapes from marketers.

The goal of Morgan Spurlock's Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is to get his audience to realize the impact advertising by brands has on many areas of life. I won't give a full review of this highly-entertaining film. However, the brief segment in the film that highlights Sao Paulo's effort to remove all outdoor advertising from within the city is worth noting.

In 2006, a ban was placed on all outdoor advertising in Sao Paulo, which is the fourth largest city in the world. In The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Spurlock speaks with business owners there to determine how the lack of this advertising has changed their marketing plans. While I cannot find that segment of the film on YouTube, I did find the following clip that is equally helpful in learning more about the ban.

So we've discussed the blatant use and total prevention of outdoor advertising. I have a hunch as to which version marketers prefer but it would seem eerie to live in a world without outdoor advertisements. What do you think?

Advertisements on Building Exteriors

I have an odd appreciation of the unheralded aspects of advertising: the actual devises used to relay messages. What's that old saying about not being able to see the forest for the trees? Well, I unconsciously look past, over and around marketing messages to examine the tools advertisers use to deliver said marketing message.

I was recently reminded about my quirky habit when watching the following scene that was filmed in Shanghai for the latest James Bond film, Skyfall.


That's beautiful cinematography! Here are the immediate thoughts I had during the first time I viewed this scene:

• I wonder if those ads are for the company that resides in each of those buildings or can any company pay to feature their ads on any building?
• Every vertical surface seems to be covered in lights.
• How effective are these huge advertisements?
• Can an advertisement be so big and so flashy that no one notices it?

I can’t read the text in these signs from the Shanghai scene so these building advertisements may be more like the Las Vegas strip (promoting the buildings/casino on which they’re located) than Times Square (promoting various products and services). Repeated views of this clip make me wonder why more places in America aren't heavily saturated with advertisements that consume the entire side of a building.

Photo courtesy of ChinaYourWay.org

I recall reading about a big concern that billboard companies had during the development of the US interstate highway system. In an unauthorized biography about Ted Turner, it was explained that original ordinances were not going to allow the installation of billboards along interstates. Obviously, that holdout didn't last but it does speak to our country’s unwritten requirement of "tasteful" displays of advertising - a requirement that other countries may not have.

I've looked around for uses of massive advertisements on buildings only to find that this method is probably too costly to be relied on more frequently. This method’s level of "tastefulness" may come into play too. However, I did find video of local uses of building advertisements.

First, the Coca-Cola® Company draped their headquarters in Atlanta for a well-done illumination to celebrate their 125th anniversary. Can you imagine the size of those projectors??

More locally, the Regions building in downtown Birmingham helped promote the Regions Tradition golf tournament by getting creative with their office lights at night.

Before I conclude, please be sure to check out this interesting page that describes the many different display signs (and identifies their owners) on Times Square.

Can you think of any other great examples of advertisements on buildings in the United States? If so, point me in the right direction in the comments section. Thanks!