The Anti-Advertising Agency and Packard Jennings have wrapped up their Oakland based Bus Stop Bench Ad Project. The Agency created a survey to poll residents in the neighborhoods surrounding 10 Oakland bus stops regarding what advertising tactics they found most bothersome in their neighborhoods. Jennings then developed targeted illustrations for each neighborhood and the team installed the work.

See a virtual tour of the installed benches…

This work was shown at Catharine Clark Gallery in April 2006 and included a Bus Tour organized by the gallery.

Bios of Packard Jennings and Steve Lambert can be seen on our staff page.

As an artist who works regularly with problematic social issues, Packard Jennings has had an adversarial relationship with advertising for a long time. Working with the Anti-Advertising Agency Jennings created a series of anti-advertisements for Oakland bus benches based on manipulative tactics commonly used by advertisers, such as: the manufacturing of desire, using fear, targeting children, and racial and sexual stereotyping.

The artwork address’s community concerns about advertising in our public spaces. Members of the community chose the placement of the anti-ads by filling out a brief survey about advertising’s tactics. This survey was taken door to door within a one-block radius of each target bus stop. The results were charted, and the largest average concern dictated which anti-ad is placed at that area’s bus stop.