São Paulo No Logo
There is a remarkable set of photos on flickr from Tony de Marco of São Paulo, Brazil, (population over 10 million), which outlawed all outdoor advertising in December, 2006. The law doesn’t stop at billboards, either. Provisions also ban all other forms of publicity in public spaces, including handling out fliers, ads on busses and taxis, even banners pulled by airplanes and ads on blimps are all outlawed.
This story in the International Herald Tribune has some particularly choice quotes from both sides of the debate.
The law is “a rare victory of the public interest over private, of order over disorder, aesthetics over ugliness, of cleanliness over trash,” Roberto Pompeu de Toledo, a columnist and author of a history of São Paulo, wrote in the weekly newsmagazine Veja.
“Disorder,” “ugliness,” and “trash” may sound harsh, but the population of over 10 million citizens must have agreed or the politicians wouldn’t have bothered.
Perhaps even more startling, however, is the reaction from the advertising industry:
“I think this city is going to become a sadder, duller place,” said Dalton Silvano, who cast the sole dissenting vote and is in the advertising business. “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.”
Wow.
[via boingboing]
April 15th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Wow is right. Looks a bit like East Berlin before the fall of the wall. If Wolfowitz wasn’t in so much trouble over his girlfiend’s pay, he would probably threaten to pull all the World Bank’s loans to Brazil.
April 16th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
Sad. Just sad.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:40 pm
[...] the beginning of this year. That’s it. No more advertising in the public space. As told by Campfire Media: The law doesn’t stop at billboards, either. Provisions also ban all other forms of publicity in [...]
May 18th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
It amazes me that no-one seems to realize the educational value of advertising. Just immigrate and you’ll see what I mean. Brand awareness is a huge part of our education today — Sao Palo consumers have voted to be uneducated. Wow indeed.