J-Crew "Ad-Takeover" Spoof Billboard

Charlie Todd of the infamous Improve Everywhere sent me some photos over the weekend of planes flying over the beach, in formation, to advertise Citibank services. He explained that he decided to craft the message after the final straw was drawn in the form of a giant LED billboard on the back of a boat, patrolling the coastline. We both rallied behind a "is there no place sacred" argument and went about our routine until he sent me these images yesterday from 27th and 7th avenue.

Who the fuck knows what marketing genius cooked up this doozy but it had to be someone from NYC that understands a pedestrians uniquely close relationship with the giant street level billboards operated by Contest Promotions, or whatever damn company has swallowed Contest Promotions in an effort to keep what was once an illegal business alive and well. Using what I can only describe as a physical tactic that is highly reminiscent of a few NYSAT pieces, this J-Crew ad acknowledges its "artistic" inspiration while gleefully engaging in full on viral marketing hashtag nonsense. Commercial media, and consumerist culture are a leach on society and a thief of creativity from the products created to the ways in which they are advertised.

I Call It Progress

You might not think this is progress, but I do. Once the ads go away, what comes next is up to us.

PublicAdCampaign at the 2012 Architecture Biennale

A while back we told you that PublicAdCampaign would be a part of the American Pavilion for the 2012 Architecture Biennale in Venice. Sure enough here is a picture of the NYSAT project amongst over a hundred other creative activism projects.

NPA/Contest Promotions on the Verge of Collapse? Or Just the Best Birthday Present Ever?

DISCLAIMER: This post is based on completely unauthenticated conjecture and potentially inaccurate information. That said, PublicAdCampaign has for 10 years made outdoor advertising in public space a core issue in its campaign to understand how public space can be used in more authentic and productive ways. On that journey we have made friends and enemies. Those friends sometimes tell us things. 

The short story: PublicAdCampaign noticed NPA outdoor was running hundreds of illegal bilboards totaling hundreds of thousands of square feet of illegal signage in NY. We ran an illegal civil disobedience project called NYSAT that reclaimed nearly 20,000 square feet of that signage for public projects. Documentation [HERE] Over 100 people participated in two events, 9 were arrested, 360 hours of jail time logged, 10k in legal fees and one emboldened public later, things started to change. 

First the illegal ads went white, but not with our makeshift buckets of low grade housepaint, with the paper posters of the company itself. For whatever reasons, the city had come out in force and I was ecstatic thinking that direct action projects like NYSAT could have near immediate affects on public space. More projects were planned for other cities and PublicAdCampaign forged on to new destinations ripe for civil disobedience with a social consciousness. In fact, some of those illegal billboards that were painted white eventually came down completely. There was fire in our bellies.

 

But then it began, the illegal signage became active again, topped with a message about prizes and raffles. It seemed that NPA had dodged a bullet (no doubt with serious legal prowess) by dissolving as a company and re-emerging as Contest Promotions. The new bussiness model walked a tightrope directly over the heads of the city itself demanding that the advertising they once illegally posted, was not advertising at all but now, representations of products that one could find inside the building. By this definition the advertising images (movie posters, albums and fashion) were no different than a deli awning. If you could win a taylor swift poster inside this parking garage, they could cover the facade with taylor swift signage and call it legit. It was legal gymnastics of olympic proportions.

On my birthday, I received a wonderful email from a little bird telling me of things to come. There were sordid details that I am unable to communicate but the long story short was...

"NPA/Contest Promotions is over as of Tues there will no longer be a single panel left with AD copy on them. The City is issuing restraining orders against everyone and finally they have cracked the case against the partners and left them w/bankruptcy as the only option. All the panels will be white washed and removed by the city - white washed first - by Tuesday 4:30 pm."

Again, this information comes from an unknown and potentially untrustworthy source. That said, I anxiously await tomorrow and hope to see the streets go white as we bid farewell to a devious company now called Contest Promotions. I am obviously skeptical. The company has done a great job of reaping huge profits at the expense of the public good, by making the city spends massive amounts of money to police laws which its citizens have demanded. They act in self interest while using the space which we so desperately need to serve the many. It is not only a crime what they have done, but a disservice to society brought upon us by greedy individuals. For over three years we have awaited this day.

I look forward to their departure.

A Case And Point at Kenmare and Bowery SWC

Earlier today I happened to pass by a NYC location I have become quite familiar with. Not long ago it held a large NPA advertisement that has been the target of a few of the public actions I've organized. This billboard came down recently and the wall sat empty for some time. Today I found out that it now holds a mural by an artist unknown to me. The progression of this wall speaks to a point I have made over and over again and that is central to my belief that outdoor advertising has no place in the public environment. I have long argued that not only does outdoor advertising have a negative psychological affect on the public, but it also has the undesired affect of reducing public use of public space by monetizing our cities surfaces and thus silencing those voices which cannot afford to pay for that space. Landlords would be foolish to not capitalize on their properties value and therefor the elimination of outdoor advertising must come with the elimination of any monetary incentives. Regardless, this wall is a microcosm of this idea, which would on a larger scale transform the city from a largely commercially based visual environment, to a public whose walls reflected the creativity and culture of the cities individuals.

Location progression over the last few years:

NPA operated 

  Enjoy Banking unauthorized reappropriation for NYSAT

Mr. Dimaggio unauthorized reappropriation

Empty location after first removal

Current state as of 4-25-12

Oddly enough this is the location where I really became aware that the company that operates these street level billboards was doing so illegally. Late one night I had been drinking in the LES. Heading towards the J train, I saw two workers posting advertisements at this location. I decided to see what they were up to and if they would talk to me. When I approached them they were very nonchalantly going about their job while smoking a joint, their pickup truck awkwardly parked half on, and half off the sidewalk. Around this time I was already under the assumption that not only the flyposting by NPA (now Contest Promotions) but the billboard postings like this one, were illegal. I began by asking about their job, how well they were paid, what the hours were like? etc. They were very forthcoming with me  and answered my questions while going about their bussiness. Feeling loose from the drinks I had had earlier, I decided to see if they would tell me a bit more as we seemed to be getting along quite well. Under the assumption that I was looking to apply for a job, I asked about why they worked at night and whether or not what they were doing was illegal. They seemed to take the question in stride, definitely not surprised by my inquiry. They said that every once in a while they were "hassled" by the cops and that they were taken downtown for illegal posting of signs. They were also quick to tell me that NPA lawyers were always jimmy on the spot with bail and that they received 500 dollars extra for the ordeal. 

Shortly after this conversation we launched NYSAT, several of my friends were arrested, but NPA's illegal use of public space was being rigorously inspected by the Department of Buildings. Not too long after that this sign came down, only to be up again for a short time, and then removed once more. It seemed the city had been able to enforce its laws and that NPA would be forced to shut down its bussiness. Alas this was not the case and NPA has become the fraudulently titled Contest Promotions. The company now operates under a new business model which has converted their inventory of 3rd party signage (commercial offsite advertising) to 1st party signage (onsite advertising for the business or operator at said location) in the eyes of the law. Contest Promotions purports to support local mom and pop businesses but are most often seen on the sides of parking lots and bars. As part of this new legal gymnastics, the company must operate a "contest" at the locations at which they have signage. Some of their old spots, including the one in this post simply do not comply with this new model and have therefore been permanently removed. While I wish the company would have not continued to bombard our streets with images of conspicuous consumption, I am happy that this location has proved a long held belief of mine. The elimination of outdoor advertising from our shared public environment would have a strong positive affect on the psychological environment we share as co-inhabitors of this great city. 

Tactics of Engagement in Art - Matthew Tedford

Matthew Tedford spoke with me about public space and artistic activism for his masters thesis a while back. his insight into the projects goals and expectations is pretty spot on and if ever anyone wanted an academic framing of the NYSAT project, this video is a wonderful aid.

without spoiling the content of the video I will pull out this one quote which is an argument against a typical response to the SAT projects that bemoans the "quality" of the artworks produced under police surveillance and impending arrest.

"politics springs forth from a pluralism of members within a given community. if a space of freedom and action exists debate and contestation between these members produces politics. such a precept implies that the context and the display of an artwork is as important to its political efficacy as its formal characteristics."

View more by Matthew Tedford on his Tumblr [HERE]

Cemusa Removing MaSAT Posters

Photos by Falansh
These photos are the only documentation of Cemusa removing MaSAT work. In fact, according to the photographer, this employee didn't even remove our work at this point, but rather "felt" the poster (presumably to check it's authenticity) and then closed the bus shelter back up. Later we noticed Cemusa crews counting the number of posters that we had put up. They then returned a few hours later with enough ads to remove our work without leaving the shelters empty. I find it interesting that they don't want the shelters empty and would rather allow our content a few more hours of public time. It's as if they think the paused operation of the shelters might trigger a moment of truth where the viewer questions the validity of the advertising venue itself. Remarkably this is half of what I am trying to achieve with these projects and maybe simply removing hundreds of ads would have a similar effect.

Con la guerrilla gráfica que 'robó' 130 marquesinas de Madrid

VIA El Mundo

Son las seis y media de la mañana y llevo quince minutos frente a la antigua estación del Norte, acompañado de una joven y un francés ansiosos por hacer desaparecer los anuncios de Mahou, Hugo Boss y Nokia que cuelgan de las marquesinas de en Madrid. [More Here]

Madrid Street Advertising Takeover Site is Live

The MaSAT website is finally live. The action took place on 03-30-11 and resulted in 106 bus shelter advertising replacements with 106 text based public sentiments intent on creating public dialogues where once commercial messages stood firm. Although there were no arrests this time around, Cemusa was quick to remove our handiwork, replacing our imagery within 5 hours of its posting. I want to thank everyone who took the time to submit to this project as your words and thoughts are what made this project so powerful. The sheer range of sentiments was mind boggling and truly magnificent to behold.

MaSAT website: www.publicadcampaign.com/masat

Something Just Changed In Madrid

photo: Jaime Alekos - www.jaimealekos.com

Looks like we did it again! more info to follow soon…

The Battle of Los Angeles Part II: Graffiti, the Self and the Reappropriation of Semiotic Space

A while back we posted Brett Biermann's paper Battle of LA. While he is still working on the final draft, this second version is clearer and more concise. Mr Biermann's investigations support many of the ideas we live by here at PublicAdCampaign, and to have them laid bare is a pleasure to witness. Brett has been kind enough to share his work with us before it is finished and we in turn are passing this information on to you. Please take the time to read Brett's paper and if you have any serious comments or questions, feel free to write me and I will put you in touch with him directly.

While I could review this paper's contents in this post, quoting interesting passages and giving you a taste of what I find interesting, I would rather concerned parties take the time to read it for themselves. If my glowing endorsement is not enough, maybe this quick description of the papers contents might persuade potentially interested parties to dig further. Enjoy!

In the Battle of LA, Mr Biermann compares commercial outdoor advertising to typical unauthorized urban markmaking, and in doing so shows how each is a form of felony vandalism in Los Angeles. Despite this truth, the lack of enforcement of corporate graffiti and continued persecution of more widely understood markmaking like graffiti, illuminates an underlying tendency by our governments to condone certain forms of public speech as they push a corpo-political regime identified with pro consumerist tendencies and identities. Public space, and outdoor advertisings preeminence in that space, is used to construct this consumerist identity, and promotes a hegemonic society where our shared morality and communal interests are subjugated by the needs of a capitalist regime. While this may be problematic on many levels, Brett proposes that this imposed identity, and the resulting disassociation, can be easily reversed through the reapropriation of outdoor advertising or the very tools used by the corpo-politcal machine to construct the consumer citizen. Through this act of reapropriation, ones place within the larger corpo-political environment becomes clear, freeing one from the system of control and creating individuals with agency outside of their roles as costumer citizens.

Download the full paper [Here]

TOSAT-Website Up and General Thoughts

It has been a week since the TOSAT project happened, the website is up, and I figure it time to write my thoughts on the whole thing. First off, this was really a test to see if something of this scale could be done in a city away from home, and the result is a resounding yes. While things went smoothly-no arrests and a one hundred percent success rate in getting work up-it became abundantly clear that this would not have happened without the incredible help of several individuals who did all of the initial groundwork months before the action went down. They are in no particular order, PosterChild, Sean Martindale, Martin Reis, and Vanessa at the DuSpa Collective. As well, without the 60 plus artists that donated work for this production, TOSAT would not have happened. I want to make it clear that submitting work for this project is an act of beneficent citizenship and all of the participants should be commended for supporting this type of action which does more for the city of Toronto than it does for any personal interests they might have.

That said, planning for this Toronto action began with the last NYSAT project. Upon completion in NY, I was immediately interested in taking this model to other cities. I was duly impressed with the Toronto contingent of NYSAT which took a 13 hour bus ride all the way to NY to be a part of the action. Surely if they were willing to make that trek, their dedication to this kind of public space reform was profound, and they could be counted on to take the planning of TOSAT seriously. After many email communications it was decided that Pattison's Core Media Pillars would provide the right venue for a submission based project. Standard sizes and a dense network in Toronto's downtown core made them a perfect target. Martin Reis took the bull by the horns and went out to photograph every location he could find, giving us a detailed map from which to plan both the numbers of pieces we could handle, as well as how our teams could most efficiently hit a large number of locations in the shortest amount of time.

Next an email went out to our mailing list and we quickly reached 85 artists who were willing to submit work for TOSAT. This list included artists and activists alike, but partially because of the submission based aspect of the project, it seemed many more street artists and gallery artists were sending work. I was extremely happy about this fact for a number of reasons. For one it meant that the project was growing and interest was expanding beyond the hard core public space activists. It also meant that the "quality" (for lack of a better word) of the submissions would be raised. While these street advertising projects are about creating a large enough event that the public begins to questions advertising's use of public space, often critics will harp on the fact that much of the work is less than MoMA quality. Of course these critics fail to acknowledge that many of these works are either done under extreme time constraints and risk of arrest, or that artists are unwilling to polish a work knowing that the piece will quickly be removed, likely ending up in the garbage. Either way, the easier submissions are to look at, the less ammo the critics have and that can only help our cause.

While much of the project was planned before hand, I arrived in Toronto a week before the action to take care of final issues. My first task was to collect the works which had been trickling into Toronto over the last month. After counting the packages that had been received, there were only 45 artists who had sent in work, totaling only 70 some pieces. While I was under the expectation we would have 85 participants, I was obviously worried that the project would not have the support it needed to create a serious reaction. I sent out an email to those whose work I had not received to figure out what was going on. Responses varied and included some whose work had been returned because of customs fees which our receiver could not afford to pay (something we have learned can be escaped by warning participants to declare their works value to be less than 20 dollars) others had tracked packages which were still en route having been held up by customs or other delivery issues, and lastly about 15 artists had just plain flaked out. While the last response is typical of a project like this, it is also very difficult to deal with as the scope of the project and planning done before hand is dependent on people coming through on their obligations. In the end everything worked out and much of the work which was on its way when I first counted arrived without incident.

Now knowing exactly how much work we were in possession of, the serious planning could take place. I sat down with Vanessa and figured out just how many installers/activists we would need. DuSpa, being a collective that includes an incredible roster of progressive and caring individuals came through in spades, providing 16 participants to install the daytime pillar action and a similar number for the night time billboard action. It was decided that the "Ground" teams (handling the pillar locations) would depart at 5pm to insure daylight protest aspects of the project as well as insure photographs could be taken after installation in the event that the works were removed the next morning. The "Sky" teams would install under the cover of darkness, leaving our hideout at midnight with the expectation of a 4am return.

As we gathered at 3pm on Sunday, the day of the project, it was still pouring rain outside. Journalists, videographers and installers waited impatiently knowing installation could not begin until the rain stopped as many of the pieces were done on paper. Meanwhile, time was passed going over legal issues, briefing installers on how to enter the pillars and generally milling about anxiously. By 4pm the rain had stopped and by five it looked like the night would stay clear. We set out in six teams to blanket 41 pillars in less than 2 hours. While the first aspect of the project took place with little incident, it should be noted that initial scouting had turned up locations that had subsequently been removed by the time our action took place and some quick thinking was done by teams who found a few locations no longer existed. Again these issues will be dealt with in the next projects.

After removing over 160 ads, leaving PSA's in place, and installing over 90 pieces of artwork, participants returned exuberant and ready for the Sky team action. This aspect of the project was broken down into two teams. One containing the DuSpa contingent and the other Posterchild, Sean Martindale and myself. Each of our objectives was to whitewash 10 billboards in downtown Toronto, add some "art" and return home safely. While I was not on the DuSpa side of things I cannot attest to the ease of their outing but our team ran into no trouble at all. We painted out advertising with impunity for 3 hours in front of pedestrians, night shift workers, and transit employees until the very end. At our last location, ecstatic at our progress, we decided to end with a few photo ops. Having successfully painted the date of the project and a total of nine billboards we began to pack our truck.

Out of the corner of my eye, as I peeled a Pattison sticker from the side of our vehicle, I saw flashing lights. Knowing the police would box us in I continued at my task. Once they had pulled in behind our truck, they exited the car. At this point I looked over and said hello. The officer driving asked me to come over to him which I was already in the process of doing, saying something to the affect of "How you doing tonight?" He then looked me up and down, most likely because I was covered head to toe in paint drippings, and asked "Did you paint that billboard?" referring to the billboard painted with a giant 20 not 30 feet from our truck. Knowing I could not say no believably, I nonchalantly answered "Yes." He followed "You work for Pattison?" My truck said Pattison on the side so my only answer was again "Yes." He then looked me up and down slowly, I assume trying to find a reason to doubt me at which point he asked again quizzically. "You work for Patisson?" He clearly was not sure if he should believe me. It was at this point that I stupidly or maybe smartly responded, "Yeah we are just wrapping up our night, did a few of these in the neighborhood."

I do not suggest ever giving cops any more information than they ask for but in this situation it seemed to work in my favor. I seemed to truly believe that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing and I think it rubbed off. Without any hesitation I had told him what he didn't expect to hear, and offered more information unsolicited. It was too real and he motioned to his partner to get back in the car. Their engine started and they quickly left. Needless to say we jumped in the back of our vehicle and drove as far away from that area as we could, returning to our hideout around 4am.

All in all the project was a complete success and I hope everyone involved felt the same way. The media in Toronto reported about the project widely and we hope that some of the issues that Torontonian's wanted raised will be reinvigorated by this action. Mainly, how the billboard by-law will play out in the coming months. Working in another city was a definite challenge. My tendencies to over control everything had to be let go and I was happily surprised with the results the true magicians behind this project ended up pulling off. While there are small details which will help us plan other cities more thoroughly, prevent us from loosing work, dropping participants, live mapping locations, etc. it was all about having a network of people in place willing to do some serious work. As much as we talk about the public space/anti-advertising activism world growing, this was truly an example of an international effort. Many of the participants had never met one another and had come together on faith and only our principles as common ground. Indeed a community of people exists floating around this type of activism and when that community hits, more people are brought into the fold, or at least into the conversation.

While this may be only a small step or too much work for so little return, I continue to believe that these projects are an important marriage of the art and activist world. With over half the world's population now residing in major metropolitan cities, the means of representation are becoming an ever important issue for our public spaces. If we let this issue go and do nothing about it we may find ourselves living in environments in which we have no say at all, where the normal array of visual elements becomes so privatized that questioning it may not even be a question at all. In fact we might already be there. If we choose to disobey current property laws and throw into question current tendencies to monetize and thus privatize our public experiences, we might just find our public spaces are missing a public element they might desperately need. And if this is a wild goose chase, citizens barking up the wrong tree in an effort to gain a better understanding of their relationship to their public environment and thus the society around them, then what have we lost?

In the end all the citizens of our cities have only to gain from non-violent civil disobedience like this. Ad revenues are quickly absorbed into multi-billion dollar budgets and our cities, if only for a moment, question something they pay little attention to otherwise. If anything these moments of contemplation are enough for me to continue forward but ultimately one would hope that opinions will begin to develop, seeds of ideas which will slowly alter the way we think about our public spaces, the people around us and the cities we want to live in.

more info at: www.publicadcampaign.com/tosat

Toronto Street Advertising Takeover A Success

After the success of the NYSAT projects, it was only fitting we bring our very own brand of civil protest to another city. On August 22nd PublicAdCampaign joined forces with a group of incredible artists and activists to bring you the latest large scale non-violent civil disobedience project in Toronto. With over 90 pieces of art and public communications installed, zero arrests, and an advertising company unable to deal with the works removal, TOSAT has been a complete success. Please stay tuned for the website launch within the next few days, hopefully sooner. The only question that remains is which city will be next?

98 Avenue A, Those Empty White Boxes, And The New Contest Promotions Model

It has been a while since we posted about NPA City Outdoor (you will notice they have removed their website despite the fact that they still operate in several US cities) and their sister company Contest Promotions. There have been some interesting developments and I think they are worth noting for our readers. Very briefly, NPA has dissolved in NYC, stopped illegally wildposting construction sites, and nearly halved its inventory in an attempt to operate under the guise of legality. This is in part due to the NYC Sign Enforcement Unit and also the actions of all the amazing NYSAT participants that took it upon themselves to protest NPA's illegal commercial land grab. Here are a few more detailed accounts of recent activities associated with the illegal outdoor advertising company and how they are continuing to abuse public space under false pretenses.

-Remember 98 Avenue A on the Lower East Side? It is where two people were arrested for white washing an illegal NPA street level billboard during the first NYSAT project. It is also where the landlord was facing nearly $250,000.00 in violations from the NYC DOB Sign Enforcement Unit. After defying a stop work order, and removing the illegal signage himself, the landlord was still facing massive fines from the city until just recently. Having worked directly with the landlord to resolve this issue, I am told all violations have been dropped.

-Directly after dissolving as a company in NYC, NPA whited out many of the blatantly illegal advertising locations they had been operating in the city. This left white billboards haphazardly strewn across mostly Manhattan. Sadly, with an outdoor media landscape seen as off limits to public use, even these perfect white canvases were only taken advantage of a few times. These billboards have since been removed.

-In order to keep a good portion of their inventory, NPA morphed into Contest Promotions to avoid having to go through NYC, LA, and San Francisco's Departments of Buildings to obtain 3rd party sign permits. I would assume they knew that these cities would not be forthcoming with 3rd party advertising permits after having been taken advantage of for so long. In order to circumvent this important check on outdoor advertising media, Contest Promotions purports that the illegal advertising signage on the sides of local business in our cities are actually representations of raffle prizes available inside the store, ostensibly converting the advertisements to 1st party signage. They go so far as to say that these raffles play an important role in the fight for mom and pop businesses in our age of super chains and mega marts. (read what they say here) San Francisco recently challenged this ludicrous claim and sadly a judge did not fully support the city as reported by Ban Billboard Blight.

From what I have been told, NYC will file its own lawsuit against Contest Promotions challenging the notion that the signs retained by this company are still in fact third party signage and do not comply with NYC law. In my travels around the city I have come across a few blatant examples which highlight how absurd Contest Promotions' claim to 1st party signage is.

The first example is this giant Hendricks Gin billboard which is adhered to the side of a coffee shop at 27th street and 6th avenue. Are we to believe that Contest Promotions thinks that a gin ad in some way draws a crowd into this coffee establishment, allowing them to "compete" with other coffee sellers? And if so are we also to believe that Caffe Roast Bean, a chain coffee seller, is actually a mom and pop business? Along with this, there is no raffle box available in this establishment which is the hypothetical link between the outdoor signage and the business upon which it is located. To me this is a clear indication of the lies Contest Promotions is operating under.

The second glaring inconsistency in Contest Promotions claim to legality is this massive street level billboard for the movie Grown Ups, adhered to the side of a parking lot. Despite there being a raffle box at this location, are we to believe that this signage in any way helps this business, which by the way is not what I would personally call a local mom and pop shop.

The whole Contest Promotions business model is a lie. They are twisting the law in order to continue to abuse public space with commercial media. It is yet another example of how commercial media flouts our current laws and in doing so thumbs its nose at the public at large. All of this is made even more disgusting through the language of altruism espoused by the company. To allow Contest Promotions to continue to operate under such conditions is to allow commercial media to make its own rules in our public space and to grant them carte blanche access to our shared environment. It is nothing more than an outright abuse of each and every citizen that lives in this great city for the sake of a few individuals reaping massive profits off of our collective thoughts.

If you are as outraged by this as I am, I would suggest contacting the NYC Sign Enforcement Unit and logging your complaint with the city. (212) 566-4567

It's Official, The New York Street Advertising Takeover Microsite Is Up

Monday morning at approximately 11:00am the final 3 arrested NYSAT participants had their cases dismissed because the NPA employees who called the police on them failed to sign the deposition in order move forward with the case. This is the same thing that happened with all 9 of the arrests associated with the two NYSAT projects and is an indication that NPA is not interested in a legal battle because they know what they are doing is illegal and would rather sweep controversy under the rug. Now that our participants are safe, our lawyers have told us we can finally launch the official NYSAT website.

OFFICIAL NYSAT MICROSITE

On this website you will find an immense amount of information regarding the projects including, project documentation, maps, video, press, information on NPA, information on how to identify and report illegal signage, and a description of how you too can create a public intervention of your own.

We would like to thank everyone involved in this project whose participation made it possible to create such a large scale public intervention that not only benefited the participants but the city at large. We have been continually impressed with the level of commitment NYC residents have to their city and their shared public spaces. It is truly an indication of how much people care about the city they live in and the spaces which knit all those private residences, and ourselves together.

Please note that gathering all the information for this site has been a challenge and we admit there might be some things we overlooked in the process. If you were a participant and you have not been credited, would like to remain anonymous, have imagery you would like included or generally have changes, please contact us and we will alter the site immediately. We cannot thank everyone enough for their dedication to this cause and New York City in general.

Sincerely PublicAdCampaign

98 Avenue A Finally Removed After 8 Months

Approximately April 25th

December 21st 2009

After 2 arrests on April 25th during the first NYSAT project, having the DOB officially deem this location illegal, watching as a half a million dollars in fines were issued by the ECB to both NPA and the landlord, this location has finally been removed 8 months later. Whether or not those violations will stick is a question we anxiously await as we follow NPA's conversion to Contest Promotions Inc. in NYC. Now lets see if we can get Keith Schwietzer to get an artist to refresh those rolldowns and give the East Village something it deserves.

RawleMurdy Uses The Recent NYSAT 2 Project To Call On Advertising To Make Artful Ads

Despite a full understanding of marketing's interest in "trying to shape people’s perceptions of concrete things in order to sell those things." Mr. Mathieu still seems to miss the point of the last NYSAT project. Irregardless of how "artful" an ad might be, it is still stealing from the public. By placing a monetary value on our public surfaces, we prevent those surfaces from being used for things that are good for all of us and not simply those intent on profiting from our cityscape. Honestly it really has little to do with "artfulness" or "beauty".

The example I often use is this. A deli owner is offered $1,440.00 a year to allow an outdoor advertising company to hang advertisements on the side of his or her business. Without much thought he takes this offer and profits minimally. If that space was not allowed to be used for commercial messages, another scenario might play itself out benefiting the city and its residents. One example might be that the 3rd grade class from the local public school would ask this deli owner to paint a mural about the neighborhood on the side of his business. Unable to profit from this space, the deli owner would be inclined to allow these youngsters to make their own mark on the city surface.

The benefit of this type of use of public space is relatively simple to understand. By creating something visual, the students will leave a piece of themselves behind. What is left behind creates an attachment to that space that results in an investment that is both physical and psychological. An invested resident is just that, someone who has a reason to care for the space in which he or she lives. Better yet, this type of use of public space also benefits the viewer, creating neighborhood landmarks which create spatial relationships, alter your sense of place and offer you community in an often anonymous landscape. Juxtaposed, the advertisement creates no such investment on the part of the producer or viewer.

October 26th, 2009 by Henry Mathieu

A response to the NY Times article, “A Battle, on Billboards, of Ads vs. Art,” by Colin Moynihan, published on Monday October 26 — http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/nyregion/26posters.html — and copied below.

There is an interesting piece in today’s NY Times. It reports on an artist named Jordan Seiler, and a group he founded called, “The Public Ad Campaign.” — http://www.publicadcampaign.com/ – They whitewash billboards in Manhattan and allow advocates to spread anti-advertising messages, or artists to replace the ads with their own artwork work.

“ … ‘We’re bombarded by ads every day,’ [artist, Jordan Seiler] said. ‘Advertising frames the public environment as being for sale but public space is not inherently commercial.’ … Some passers-by liked the commando like cover-ups; an artist named Jane Gennaro, who was not connected to the project, approved of the men painting over an ad for the video game Grand Theft Auto, saying, “We need to get rid of all the visual noise. …”

This raises an interesting question in my mind. If ads were more ‘artistic,’ per se, would they be considered so offensive? Would beautiful ads contribute to the cacophony of ‘visual noise’ we’re ‘bombarded’ with on a daily basis?

Ads are very often considered to be obstacles that impede our ability to get the information or the entertainment we’re looking for, or distractions that clutter our everyday lives. We’ve trained ourselves to side-step or tune-out the vast majority of ads we see in nearly every context. We tune them out, that is, unless they offer up something we want. Nobody seems to object to an ad that give us a piece of information we find to be useful, or an ad that makes us laugh. Thus advertisers try to cut through the clutter with targeted media placements, and offer up engaging/relevant content. What I take from this article is that advertisers aren’t making ads that are artistic enough to be relevant and engaging to Jordan Seiler and his New York street artist friends.

While I’m sure advertisers aren’t loosing too much sleep over having lost that particular audience, I do think we should pay heed to the fact that we’re very likely loosing other audiences who aren’t aggressively protesting our communication efforts. One way to get some of those audiences back might be to beat Jordan Seiler and The Public Ad Campaign at their own game. Here’s my challenge to advertisers far and wide: make artful ads.

When I was a college student, I was an Art/English double major. In looking for that somethin’-somethin’ I wanted to do when I grew up, advertising struck me as a real world application of many of my interests. I perceived the industry to be an intriguing blend of storytelling, music, visual arts, and pop-culture all applied to shaping people’s perceptions of concrete things. What I’ve learned since (and frankly should have been obvious to begin with) was that we’re trying to shape people’s perceptions of concrete things in order to sell those things. So while I recognize today that – Advertising isn’t Art, it’s Business – I’m still unwilling let go of all that initially drew me to the industry. Granted, advertising does thrust billboards and a whole lot of other ‘visual noise’ into all of our lives. So when we create ads, I feel it’s important not to loose track of the fact that each of these billboards can be thought of as a canvas not only to sell things, but to sell them beautifully. I would like to believe that I might one day create an ad Jordan Seiler himself deems worthy of hanging in his living room.

Looks like OX got Up After All

Looks like OX got up after all.

New York Magazine- Breaking Section

We were recently in the Breaking section of New York magazine after speaking to Erica Ogden for a lengthy amount of time over the phone. Erica had a wide range of interesting questions that got to the heart of some of the issues surrounding the NYSAT project and PublicAdCampaign's goals in general. Sadly none of this could be relayed in the 3 small paragraphs adorning a picture of me that I wish was left out so more text could have been included. I know this is not a function of the reporting so much as the section in which we were included. I want to take this opportunity to explain some things further.

Thank you Erica, and New York magazine for including the project in your pages. We greatly appreciate your interest and dedication to stories affecting all of our lives in NY.

First, the reasons we should exclude advertising from environments where we have no choice but to imbibe the intoxicating messages should be further explained. Advertising, without a doubt is a manipulative force. This becomes obvious when you look into the terminology advertising often uses to explain to its clients what it will be doing for them. Terms like "domination", "immersion", "saturation" pervade the language and give a good indication of advertising's intent to control viewer response. This manipulation, in pursuit of profit, has as it's goal not the psychological health of the viewer, but his or her wallet. While this may not be the worst thing in some cases, often products with commercial value fail to provide consumers with an object of any real value for their lives as productive engaged citizens of this world. Meaning these products do not enhance your relationship to your friends, neighbors, and others which you share the world with, instead offering signs of conspicuous worth used to flout your status above others. As trite as this may sound, the way you sell a Hummer is you tell the consumer it will make women swoon and guys cower in your presence. You do not tell the consumer it will get 12 miles to the gallon and help to destroy our collective environment, burdening your fellow man and making you a liability to those around you. If advertising were that honest, we would all be driving smart cars and prius'. Prone to the manipulations of advertising, we see many consumers driving Hummers unaware or blinded to the nature of their consumption. The danger of advertising's influence should be recognized for what it is and regulated, especially in those spaces where our collective identity and needs are paramount, like public space.

The article also glosses over the fact that the advertising locations we were targeting are in fact 100% illegal, quoting us as saying that "we believe [they] are put up illegally." To operate outdoor advertising in the city of NY, one must be registered with the city as an OAC and have a permit for every location that the company operates. The city requires this so that they can maintain control of an industry that often abuses the public in pursuit of ever increasing profits. Permitting is something NPA has failed to do for all of it's over 500 locations. Take for example the location at 100 avenue A where two participants were needlessly arrested in the first NSYAT project. This location, despite having a $25,000.00 fine associated with it continues to get new ad copy. This location is one of many that have been pursued by the DOB and is one of the 114 the last NYSAT project whitewashed in an attempt to bring this issue to the forefront of public consciousness. On top of this, NPA has the copyright on the term Wildposting, and admits to operating Wildposting services in NY on it's website, something which is all together illegal in the city. On top of this NPA is in a heated lawsuit with the city of San Francisco over its illegal ad locations run amok on these California residents. Clearly the company is ignoring the law and operating illegally.

Lastly, a quote taken slightly out of context needs to be amended. "I honestly believe that I’m right—that people should be allowed to make commentary like this and that I need to not be hiding." This quote came as a response to me being was asked why I use my name in association with this work and not a pseudonym. First, I honestly believe that WE are right. There were 80 participants who believe that this issue is a growing problem for this city and that our voices should be heard. At worst our actions should not be criminalized, at best we should be greeted by the city with respect for taking the initiative to help the city without interest in personal profit on an issue it is having a hard time controlling. Part of using my name is to remind people, the city, and the law that what we are doing is not vandalism, graffiti, or the wanton destruction of property. This is a project done out of the deepest respect for the city and all it's residents.

“I don’t really have a problem with advertising. I kind of enjoy it. And I’m a freelance photographer, so there are definitely times when I’ve shot advertisements. There’s a difference, though, between advertising that’s presented in situations where you have a choice as to whether or not to take in the message and places where you do not.

[More]

Public Space Can Be Used Against You: NY Street Ad Takeover #2

Hrag Vartanian of Hyper Allergic interviewed PublicAdCampaign about the last NYSAT project and it is well worth the read. We greatly apologize to Hrag for our mis-communication that resulted in his lack of direct access to the latest NYSAT project. Hrag has dissected some of the major questions regarding this type of non-violent civil protest project and we greatly appreciate his work and interest in reporting so diligently on the project.

I had been working on a story for six months but some things don’t always work out the way you plan them. What was the story? Last Sunday, Jordan Seiler of Public Ad Campaign organized the second New York Street Advertising Takeover (NYSAT) in New York. The New York Times was there but sadly I wasn’t. [More Here]