I dream of a world where advertising is avoidable. This is my list of rules in my make-believe land of limited corporate power.
Each business is entitled to up to 4
signs which include text, which can be placed only on the building in which they are located. Signs shall not be more
than 20 square feet each and shall not be more than 25 feet off the ground. Window posters & signs smaller than 6
square feet shall need not adhere to this requirement.
Businesses may have text-free murals &
other art on their external walls if they choose.
Public space shall contain no
commercial advertisements whatsoever (aside from store signage as
outlined above). Non-commercial/advertorial art can be displayed &
created on private property without restriction as long as it is not
obscene, and in public space with approval.
Magazines, newsstands, and other
periodicals which are handed out in public space (outside) may not
have front-page advertisements.
Commercial advertisements are
completely and totally banned from all government-owned buildings,
including but not limited to: schools, courthouses bus stops &
post offices (excepting advertisements for postal services).
Each neighborhood within the community
shall have the option to form a neighborhood board to approve street
art which is going into the public space of their neighborhood, in
order to preserve the cultural integrity of the neighborhoods.
Artists will be able to apply for space and/or supply grants and will
be subject to approval by the neighborhood board.
Imagine a world where you did not have
to see ads if you did not want to. Where if you wanted to know about
a business you could go there or you could choose to open a paper
which ran their ads or you could choose to google them or you could
choose to turn on the TV and hear about them. Imagine walking
through your city and instead of seeing hundreds of beer billboards
seeing neighborhood murals?
I want this world. I want a world
where I am not assaulted by advertising for the crime of walking out
the door. I want a world where people know about the businesses
around them and the neighborhoods around them. I want a world where
coca-cola doesn't have the right to buy my landscape, my eyeballs, my
life.
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