New Beastmaster work in Madrid.

Barcelona - Title: “You can stretch the truth”.

Beastmaster recently sent in these ad takeovers from Madrid and Barcelon that I really love. The production value is fantastic and his messaging is consistently interesting. I just wish he would ditch the logo. The logo thing is a pet peeve of mine because it warrants the criticism, "isn't this just an ad for yourself? and if so, what gives you the right?" While I do agree that adding a logo does make the work self promotional, I do not believe it invalidates the work. The messaging Beastmaster is putting across is in direct conflict with many of the advertisings core ideals and is a welcome replacement. Either way the work is thought provoking and well worth taking a look at [HERE]

Madrid - Title: “White Limo”.

Barcelona Is Targeting Billboards It Sees as 'Pollution'

While some might think I am crazy, or just a little to "passionate", about how our public spaces are used by the OOH industry, I give you the below article. I feel like the recent rise in legitimate questioning of advertisings assumed right to our public environment by local governments and individuals, is giving credence to my craziness. Beyond being harmful to our collective psyche, are we simply giving it all away too cheaply? Why subject ourselves to the whims of an industry hellbent on using our attention to create vast wealth that they then extract away from our cities, leaving them crowded with imagery that no one wants to see, and devoid of the individual character that makes each beautiful concrete jungle its own. Barcelona mayor Colau doesn't see the problem in black and white but he sure does understand that Barcelona is getting the short end of the stick.

"Across the board, Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau’s administration has been fighting to cut back on what it sees as commercial exploitation of the city."

VIA: The Atlantic City Lab

Flickr/Serge Melki

Public advertising is pollution and it needs to be curbed. So insists a new policy from Barcelona, which will substantially cut back on how much advertising City Hall permits in public places. In a bid to make Barcelona a more attractive, less aesthetically cluttered place, street advertising in the city will be reduced by 20 percent in July 2016. More [HERE] El Pais Article [HERE]

La crítica a la publicidad en el espacio público de Jordan Seiler, en Barcelona

Nice little write up on a recent action in Barcelona

VIA: El Pais

¿Se han fijado en las marquesinas de la ronda Universitat? Jordan Seiler is in the city. En Barcelona. El artista y activista de Nueva York es uno de los invitados del festival Openwalls y esta madrugada ha dejado rastro en el centro de la ciudad para denunciar el bombardeo de publicidad, mensajes de privados, subraya, que los ciudadanos recibimos en el espacio público. More [HERE]

Merry X-Mas from Are You Dead

This holiday greeting brought to you by Are You Dead.

Madrid's Public Transit, Brought to You by Megacorporations

VIA: The Atlantic City Lab

For rent: one subway system. That seems to be the approach of Madrid Metro, which is taking public transit advertising to unprecedented levels. Until the end of October, users of Madrid Metro’s map app (downloaded 1.2 million times so far) will find their plan peppered with the logo of a supermarket chain. Thanks to a deal with French retail giant Carrefour—continental Europe’s answer to Walmart—logos of the megachain will appear wherever there’s one near a Metro station. The idea is to channel passengers in need of groceries straight off of trains and into nearby markets. There are over 100 stores on the map, making Madrid’s Metro map app look like it’s broken out with a serious case of Carrefour acne. More [HERE]

Madrilenos Doing it Better Than Most

I am in Miami working off a tethered Galaxy S3 internet connection, but that wont stop me from posting this fantastic ad intervention from ROSH in Madrid. The Madrid contingent has been doing some very progressive work lately, attempting to get the general public to break into bus shelters and freestanding ads on their own. This simple and effective intervention begs the viewer to realize that access is not the prohibiting factor. More instigative work from NEKO [HERE]

NEKO Free T-Shirts

You want a free T-shirt? Then break into this ad shelter and take it! More amazing work from NEKO [HERE]

Neko Keeps the City Lights Bright in Madrid

Neko just sent me this recent takeover from Madrid. Believe in the power of light!

Ikea Street Art Campaign

Ikea's idea of "activating" a typically dull outdoor advertising campaign. 

Black Hearts / Colour Souls - NEKO and Rosh

Neko and Rosh Have been out on the streets spreading good will in Madrid and here is the video to prove it.

Nuria Has My Attention And She Should Have Yours Too

Photo by Falansh

Nuria Mora is one of the organizers of the MaSAT project and an incredible street artist whose work has often found itself taking over outdoor advertising space in an effort to mediate that line between public and private dialogues in our shared environment. This most recent takeover is by far the most beautiful and aggressive takeover I have seen from her, and from anyone for that matter, in quite some time. Working in broad daylight and on one of the busiest streets I can imagine, this takeover defies the covert actions of an illegal activity and embraces Nuria's role as public individual with rights to access public media space. The fact that so many individuals became a part of this takeover through their shared witness of the event is astonishing and I cannot commend Nuria enough for her brazen and beautiful efforts.

Sam3, Billboards in Murcia, Spain

I have yet to meet Sam3 but I already know I will like him. His work over outdoor advertising is both incisive and insightful.

VIA Unurth

NEKO - "Yo Soy NEKO. Y Tu?

Neko has been up to no good in Madrid and here is the proof. Photo courtesy of the artist...

A Trap for Mosquitos, Ads Attract Unwanted Attention

I was just turned on to Lazinterruptus, a spanish based anti ad campaign. I emailed to get in touch and this is what they had to say about their actions. All I know is I have to get my ass to Spain.

Luzinterruptus is an a Street Art Collective and we carry out installations in the cities. Our last anti ad campaign was misquitos but we have others like Deadly wounded Advertisements we carried out in april. You can check out all our installations in our blog www.luzinterruptus.com. We have the information in spanish and english.

On nights of unbearable heat, mosquitos feed on even the handsome and perfect models, with smooth skin, that our exhibited everywhere in the advertising spaces in the city. And it is the beautiful and intense light what attracts them and makes them fall towards it-not knowing it will be their end for sure. [More Here]

RIPO And Difusor In Spain

RIPO just sent me these images from Spain. He knows I'm a sucker for ad takeovers and the Spaniards have a knack for this sort of thing. He explains the simple but affective tactics like this...

"The unfortunate thing for Catalan billboards is that the only difference between Anuncia’t (advertise yourself) and Denuncia’m (report me to the authorities, or press charges on me) is three letters, a lick of paint, and a couple of minutes of work

At the same time that same message that is worth “vandalizing” can be empowering if painted onto a wall without any permission."

Sam3, Subliminal Billboards, Spain

Sam 3's work has always been fantastic. This recent Billboard takeover in Spain proves once again that he is ahead of the game as far as we I'm concerned

Via Unurth

"Murcia is infected with the plague of billboards everywhere, most of them neglected. 12 altered billboards to write a word that is hidind behing all this." See more by Sam3. artist: Sam3 location: Murcia, Spain.

Sam3 Helps Billboards Get in to Fall Spirit

I've always been a big fan of Sam3's work. This is my favorite piece of his by far.

VIA Animal NY

After his continuous line portrait on a building in Queens, Sam3 is back in Spain, hitting billboards. Noting that “in the autumn the leaves fall,” the street artist enlisted one of his silhouetted figures to trash some old ads in the city of Murcia. |Sam3|

Photo by Sam3