Digital Billboard Assault
A few months ago there was that one annoying digital billboard on our drive home, flashing unwelcome news about the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Now digital billboards are popping up all over L.A.
Clear Channel Outdoor's chief executive Paul Meyer explains the benefits from the advertiser's perspective: "We're there 24-7...There's no mute button, no on-off switch, no changing the station." If only Clear Channel could keep people from blinking.
In a city like L.A., with an already crowded visual environment, more digital billboards isn't a huge disaster. In a smaller town or a suburb, though, they could be a real blight. And advertising companies all over the country are pushing cities to allow them to convert their billboards to digital. Should this be stopped?
From Rob Walker's del.icio.us links.
Posted on March 31, 2008 by - Andrew Price
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commodification as opportunity
Hmmm. Should this be stopped? No more than any of the other large-scale corporate advertising cluttering our visual landscape. Other than a line of argument about road safety perhaps, it doesn't seem much worse than the enormous golden arches towering above communities of all sizes throughout the country (it's potentially even a little less monotonous).
Should it be countered, altered, reinterpreted and taken full advantage of? Absolutely. As the digital billboards and Meyer's quote illustrate, cities and public spaces are more hyper-commodified and corporate-dominated than ever, yet as long as there have been cities, the people have contended the use of space and challenged who symbolically owns the built environment. From tagged walls and stenciled sidewalks to 'ad-busted' billboards and electronic googlebombing, popular spatial resistance shows little sign of acquiescing to new technology or persistent scrubbing.
There's no doubt that digital billboards are an obnoxious (if not unexpected) ratcheting up of corporate domination of public space. But this new advertising angle presents many potential opportunities for resistance as well.
Posted on April 1, 2008 — by Neighborhoodist
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Opportunity as Imposition
Hey, nice comment. And yeah, this isn't too much different from every other assault on/commodification of public space (point taken re: Golden Arches).
But just because popular spatial resistance won't acquiesce to new technology or persistent scrubbing, that doesn't mean we should all acquiesce to the commodification of public space.
The Cultural Revolution in China was an "opportunity for resistance" also. But was clearly a bummer.
Posted on April 1, 2008 — by DirtyFiveThirty
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channels of resistance
word. And no, we absolutely should not acquiesce to the commodification of public space - that's what 'spatial resistance' is all about (whether the result is any net social gain is a different debate). I'm all for formal channels of challenging this issue as well - see this interesting post from LA Weekly for example - although 'city/citizen v. corporation' is war with many battles not regularly lost by the latter.
And re: China, clearly 'resistance' does not always equal something positive. sometimes its very sad and bloody and sometimes the violence of resistance is no better or worse than what it is trying to resist. And I suppose some would argue that graffiti does more violence to someone's personal property than a digital billboard does to our collective eyes and minds. But I'm not sure I buy that one is less violent or more ok just because it has been paid for.
Posted on April 5, 2008 — by Neighborhoodist
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True, Double-True
"But I'm not sure I buy that one is less violent or more ok just because it has been paid for."
Totally agree. A good point. Now I'm getting all confused about the whole idea of public property in general.
Anyway, when it comes to spacial resistance, this project (http://www.goodmagazine.com/blog/orions_reverse_graffiti) flipped what most people find objectionable about graffiti on its head.
Posted on April 5, 2008 — by DirtyFiveThirty
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a new twist
Uh oh... what if opposing a digital billboards is simultaneously endangering the chance for a much-needed new park?
This LAT article describes the ironic dilemma of a proposal for a massive new digital billboard that downtown, partial revenues from which would go towards building a new wetlands preserve in park-poor South LA!
pretty crafty on somebody's part.
also, yeah orion's a badass.
Posted on April 8, 2008 — by Neighborhoodist
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