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Adfree Cities

adfreecities.org.uk

231–240 of 278 posts

Re: Adfree Cities

#231
post #31

The fact that you can advertise in cities is the reason that big tech doesn't capture 100% of profits in every single market. Advertising in cities, from billboards to flyers to stickers is the only way to reach people directly, without going through an intermediary big tech monopoly. I have a sense that the people most likely to support this thing also whine a lot about big tech, so this is just another bullet point…

> The fact that you can advertise in cities is the reason that big tech doesn't capture 100% of profits in every single market. I really don't think this is true. What evidence leads you to believe that? > Advertising in cities, from billboards to flyers to stickers is the only way to reach people directly Most billboards are from [inter]national corporations. Local businesses usually rely on the most effective form…

> Most billboards are from [inter]national corporations.

You literally made that up, because that's just plain false.

Re: Adfree Cities

#232
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While the billboard may be an international corporation, they target local business. Most billboards I see in rural areas are for local businesses targeting travelers with things they probably need anyway - gas, hotels, and restaurants at the next exit. In cities there is a different mix.

At least in the US many of these are franchised businesses, so it is still corporations (Hilton, Best Western, McDonald’s etc.)

Franchised businesses, are still local businesses. They're not advertising a service far away, or a hotel on the other side of the planet.

Re: Adfree Cities

#234

The fact that you can advertise in cities is the reason that big tech doesn't capture 100% of profits in every single market. Advertising in cities, from billboards to flyers to stickers is the only way to reach people directly, without going through an intermediary big tech monopoly. I have a sense that the people most likely to support this thing also whine a lot about big tech, so this is just another bullet point…

I doubt this is true, but would be interested in seeing evidence of the contrary. Based on my anecdotal observations 99% of advertisements I see in my city are by gigantic international conglomerates: Coca Cola, Disney, H&M, HBO and so on. I don't recall seeing a local or small business advertising (ignoring signs on or near their own store front of course). If anything it seems advertising works to entrench the exis…

I don't know where you are, but in NYC and in the area all billboards that I can remember are of local businesses.

Just off the top of my mind the billboads that I remember seeing driving round Manhattan - RPM Raceway go-carts, HSS Hospital, a gentlemen's club, local news anchors...

Re: Adfree Cities

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly maybe we should just ban all advertising? Advertising is generally a zero sum game - there’s no meaningful difference if you spend 5M on ads and your competitors spend 5M on ads or you spend 0 and your competitors spend 0. There is a difference if you can spend 20M and your competitors can only spend 5M, but that’s one way larger companies kill competition.

It's a negative sum game. I'd happily ban all advertising and replaced it with government managed services and products dictionary where suppliers would put their offers with prices. It would also be a hub of technical information about the products and their reviews. Also information about companies operating on the market. Conduct, ownership structure, financial information, everything. Basically all the market inf…

And then the likes of Donald comes in and decides, that anyone that didn't support his campaign isn't worthy to be listed in the government "dictionary"(it's directory).

Yeah... I'll live with bad advertising, rather than pave the way to 1984.

Re: Adfree Cities

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But billboards are generally placed in areas of higher traffic. Great. High traffic areas are the most dangerous places for distractions. > why they are implicitly more distracting than the myriad road signs, bumper stickers, car decals, etc that drivers already navigate. I'll list the reasons: 1. Road signs are standardized in a given state, and they're designed to be extremely easy to understand at a glance, so t…

You can surely provide some kind of research, that can support your argument... right? It's not just your opinion based on...

I might find this counter at all interesting if not for:

A) it stands to reason that if phones are distracting so are billboards which are literally designed to get your attention

B) a simple internet search yields all sorts of research into this topic supporting the common sense expectation.

As a community, we should strive for higher information commentary maybe?

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2022/05/02/study-distracting-roa...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4411179/

Re: Adfree Cities

#237
post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If billboards are a safety hazard, then all road signs are as well. (But they aren't)

Road signs provide information for roads to function properly, so even if they are a distraction the tradeoff is worth it. Billboards provide no such utility, they only impose costs on drivers for the benefit of ad companies and their customers.

Then it would be easy for you to provide multiple studies, saying that billboards are distracting.

Not just your opinion, but a lot of concrete evidence. We have had billboards for decades now. There's tonnes of data on where accidents happen. Yet no one seems to be able to provide data based backing to their opinions...

Re: Adfree Cities

#238
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact that you can advertise in cities is the reason that big tech doesn't capture 100% of profits in every single market. I really don't think this is true. What evidence leads you to believe that? > Advertising in cities, from billboards to flyers to stickers is the only way to reach people directly Most billboards are from [inter]national corporations. Local businesses usually rely on the most effective form…

> Most billboards are from [inter]national corporations. You literally made that up, because that's just plain false.

Comment removed, didn't notice I was responding to the troll again.

Re: Adfree Cities

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But billboards are generally placed in areas of higher traffic. Great. High traffic areas are the most dangerous places for distractions. > why they are implicitly more distracting than the myriad road signs, bumper stickers, car decals, etc that drivers already navigate. I'll list the reasons: 1. Road signs are standardized in a given state, and they're designed to be extremely easy to understand at a glance, so t…

You can surely provide some kind of research, that can support your argument... right? It's not just your opinion based on...

Considering most of my arguments are self-evident, no. I'm not going to provide research to prove that... let's see, "bumper stickers are attached to cars," or that "official road signs are easy to read at a glance."

Try providing some evidence of how "highly regulated" billboard distraction levels are and I might take this conversation seriously.

Re: Adfree Cities

#240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False dichotomy. The alternative is to have a cheap popular bikeshare system supported by taxes. [Edit to reply to okr, because I'm rate-limited: Well, then, make the users of the bikes pay the full cost of the bike service. As it is, you're pushing ads in everyone's face, whether or not they use the bike. Also no thanks.]

In theory. But in real life you'll pay more with taxes for poor service. My big city in Poland tried several times to get public-private bike sharing. It ended the same: company ceases operation after few years and take all bikes from the streets. People get nothing while millions already spent.

> My big city in Poland tried several times to get public-private bike sharing. It ended the same: company ceases operation after few years and take all bikes from the streets. People get nothing while millions already spent.

Is this an argument for public-private deals?

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