Sao Paulo Purges Ads. No, We’re Not Kidding

  • 1 min read
sao_paolo_billboard.jpg

Here’s a billboard we haven’t seen before.

“Imagine a modern metropolis with no outdoor advertising: no billboards, no flashing neon signs, no electronic panels with messages crawling along the bottom.

Come the new year, this city of 11 million, overwhelmed by what the authorities call visual pollution, plans to press the ‘delete all’ button and offer its residents unimpeded views of their surroundings.”

City officials in Sao Paulo, Brazil just passed a law that may see the end of ads in public display. Billboardom tips us off, but the above quote comes from the International Herald Tribune.

“I think this city is going to become a sadder, duller place,” says Dalton Silvano, an ad guy who cast the one dissenting civil vote. “Advertising is both an art form and, when you’re in your car or alone on foot, a form of entertainment that helps relieve solitude and boredom.”

For better or worse we agree, but we’re also curious about two things:

* How will city officials implement the transition of an ad-less city?
* What happens to an urban society that abruptly loses its commercial-driven stories?

Our guess: Celebration happens, that’s what. Ad-free, strangely sterile Celebration. And we’re not talking about the kind of celebration with the fancy hats and party favours.

Picture of Steve Hall

Steve Hall

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