Contest Promotions Will Pay You In Peanuts

Contest Promotions, currently in a legal battle with NYC over their dubious business model, is not on my christmas card list this year for many reasons. Mostly this is due to the fact that they have littered NY with commercial signage without concern for NYC law and authority. This behavior is indicative of typical outdoor advertising companies that treat public space as if it were a resource to be used and abused with no consequence to the people who inhabit that space. While this is a good reason to not receive holiday cheer, this check I was given by a friend only adds to my disdain. It seems that $50 dollars a month is the compensation paid to landlords willing to give up the side of their building to the private interests of commercial signage. (this space is then sold to brands for thousands of dollars a month)

Often outdoor advertising justifies its existence by harping on the economic benefits associated with allowing commercial signage in public spaces. They say this important revenue stream keeps value flowing through the system, implying that without it our public infrastructure would crumble under the added economic strain. This check serves as evidence that the economic benefits clearly do not reach the city but rather stay nestled in the coffers of national outdoor advertising companies and the brands they help promote.