Tag Archives: bad deals

Public/Private Partnerships: Will Commercialization Save Our City Parks? | Ban Billboard Blight

By Steve Lambert | Published: May 5, 2011

  A great post over at Ban Billboard Blight about the move to allow advertising in Los Angeles Public Parks.   Public/Private partnerships. At last week’s meeting of the L.A. City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, the term kept bobbing like a life preserver grasped for by city agencies at risk of being drowned in [...]

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L.A. Council Members Endorse Plan To Sell Advertising In City Parks

By Steve Lambert | Published: April 30, 2011

Ocean Front Walk in Venice is locally known as The Boardwalk, although it’s all concrete—the only boards in sight belong to distant surfers waiting to catch a wave. That view to the west is free of the intense commercialism of the inland side of the the Boardwalk, with its crowded T-shirt and souvenir shops, but [...]

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Smart License Plates: A Very Dumb Idea?

By Steve Lambert | Published: June 25, 2010

via Ban Billboard Blight Do you think the idea of California license plates than can show electronic ads is: 1.  A great idea, about time. 2.  Possibly questionable, but let’s study it. 3.  One of the top ten worst ideas of all time. If you answered yes to #1, don’t bother reading further.  If you [...]

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Consumer Reports: California considers ads on car license plates

By Steve Lambert | Published: June 24, 2010

Facing a $19 billion deficit, California is seeking creative solutions to its budget shortfall. The state legislature is considering a program that would allow advertising on license plates, according to the Associated Press. The bill would require new, digital plates, with ads appearing in the space currently occupied by the familiar numbers and letters. The [...]

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‘Welcome ad’ not so welcome – baltimoresun.com

By Steve Lambert | Published: April 3, 2010

The huge Under Armour logo recently added to the hillside of Federal Hill Park to welcome volleyball players has angered some residents, who say the advertisement detracts from the aesthetics of the historic neighborhood. “It’;s hugely disrespectful,” said Paul W. Robinson, president of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association. Since the logo was added Thursday night, [...]

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Some things I’ve been meaning to tell you

By Steve Lambert | Published: February 17, 2009

“Bomb-proof” trash cans in London – Part of “bomb proofing” a trash can includes attaching television that plays ads on the side.  How many trash cans are exploding in London? What ever happened to David Yassky’s proposal to bring ads to Brooklyn’s trash cans? This guy Dan Paluska has a nice brief post that ties [...]

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Sorry Amber, for Calif. Republicans you’re just not as important as this precious, precious money.

By Steve Lambert | Published: October 3, 2008

The L.A. Times is reporting Clear Channel has its eye on 674 state owned digital billboards on California Highways. The billboards were installed to alert drivers to road hazards and for Amber Alerts providing “urgent bulletins in the most serious child-abduction cases.” But now the state is listening to Clear Channel. Apparently California needs money. [...]

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Advertising wont solve economic problems for NYC

By Steve Lambert | Published: September 16, 2008

Another bad deal to trade public space for money from The New York Sun: Council Member David Yassky of Brooklyn is calling for the city to begin allowing advertising on municipal trash cans and suggested that such a move, which he estimated could bring $2.5 million in revenue, would help during difficult economic times. “We [...]

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The Golden Gate Billboard

By Paul S. | Published: August 27, 2007

There was an article in the NY Times today discussing the possibility of getting some sort of “sponsorship” for the Golden Gate Bridge. You know the idea of slapping advertising on everything has gotten bad when people are seriously discussing slapping ads on national treasures. What’s next? I giant “Monster.com” sign below the Mount Rushmore [...]

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NYT: Pay Phones Turned Mini-Billboards

By Steve Lambert | Published: August 17, 2007

An excerpt from Aug 17 New York Times: There is a reason for their survival: Public telephones are one of the stranger cash cows in city finance. Not because of the coins that are fed into them, but rather because of the millions upon millions that companies are willing to pay to put ads on [...]

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