The Anti-Advertising Agency » you don’t need it

You have got to be kidding

Michael Mandiberg — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:00:31 +0000

Okay, I’m going to come out and probably break with Anti Advertising Agency official policy, and say that I support ad-supported bike share programs. It is kind of making a deal with the devil, but the urban planning benefits have been demonstrated strongly. Getting cars out of the city, is worth the extra visual advertising. Plus people exercise, and are healthier, and are happier — bike riding is fun.

But this AdBike is just preposterous. The whole point of riding a bicycle in the city is to get somewhere. Transportation. Less space on the road. This is going to be worse than those trucks that drive around with billboards because it slows traffic down: I can’t imagine that beast of a recombent can move fast enough to remain save in the road. So its either going to stop traffic in the car lane, or dangerously take over the bike lane.

Just to give you a sense of how not-real-world this scenario is, check out his slacks and his shoes. He is wearing dress loafers. The only person who is going to be able to safely ride that bicycle in the city is going to be a real bicyclist. They are going to have serious muscles, and some kind of urban riding clothes and shoes. Like the bike taxi folk who have to work just to keep their behemoths moving. Dress slacks, that says a lot.

And all this is avoiding the fact that it looks stupid. If I were a marketer, I can’t imagine wanting my brand to show up on something that bulbous and dorky. Bikes are definitely cool. A lot of marketers and companies want to cash in on the bike = cool factor. But this bike is not cool. It is laughable.

And I’m restraining myself.

For more fun, check out the media kit

For more on why I like bikes, check out FoundBikes.com. Here is my ride

Orbitz Ad: Distinct Lack of Imagination

Michael Mandiberg — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:00:23 +0000

“Michael Kraus saw the alert about the long taxi line. So he called his brother who lives nearby and got a ride home. Now he owes him a turkey sandwich.”

So advertising is about imagining potential futures. It is about hope, and aspirations and dreams. Is getting a ride home from the airport all those ad people could imagine using their service for? How about finding the subway station so they could take public transport. Now that would be something for the “community.”

They said it…

Steve Lambert — Sat, 31 May 2008 17:19:19 +0000

“We as a business cannot afford to have a customer take a second look and ask, ‘Do I need this?’ ” said Bud Konheim, the chief executive of Nicole Miller. “That is the kiss of death. We’re finished, because nobody really needs anything we make as a total industry.”

from Fashion and Style in the NY Times.

thanks to Hugh O’Connor

“Where’s my stickers?”

Steve Lambert — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:16:24 +0000

During the recent rush of attention I ran out of “you don’t need it” stickers and needed to order more. Those came, and then I quickly ran out again. I just dropped a couple hundred letters in the mail box (see photo above) and there’s more stickers on the way. They’re coming!

Also, thanks those of you dropped a couple bucks into your envelope!

No Lo Necesitas

Steve Lambert — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:15:32 +0000

You Don’t Need It, en español. Already on their way to Barcelona and Peru. This sticker accompanies our english version, and english stencil version.

As always, available FREE – just send a self addressed stamped envelope to:

The Anti-Advertising Agency
c/o Eyebeam
540 W. 21st St.
New York, NY 10011

We’re relocating! Will be out of touch through mid September 2010. After that we’ll start to be available again to give these away. Please subscribe to out RSS feed and check back later.

I can put 5 in an envelope without an extra stamp. If you want more, send extra stamps. If you want to send a little donation too, that’s fine – we’ll use them to make a whole new sticker that’s in the works. If you want the english version, I still have some I can send out and they are always free. All I ask is that you send me back some photos of where you placed them.

Care to print your own? You’ll want this EPS file. For printing we use Sticker Guy and VGKids because they’re punks and they’re a deal.

You Don’t Need It – Stencil

Steve Lambert — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 19:57:26 +0000

Just made available a stencil version of our “You Don’t Need It” Sticker. The file is a pdf, which you can scale to any size you like. Glue the paper printout to something heavier, like a manilla folder. Then carefully cut out the black areas with an X-acto knife. The stencil is then ready to use. Send us photos of your results and we will post them on the site.

Made possible by:

You Don’t Need It – Stickers

Steve Lambert — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 21:51:58 +0000

Based on the popularity of the Packard Jennings and the Anti-Advertising Agency’s Bus Stop Bench project we had some stickers made. They are easy to carry around town and by placing the stickers onto advertising (or other objects) the ad is detourned, often in humorous and interesting ways.

Listen to Steve Lambert talk about the “You Don’t Need It” sticker on National Public Radio.

We’ve received some photo reports back from people like you the field (see below). If you’d like a free set of stickers, send a self address stamped business envelope to:

Steve Lambert/Anti-Advertising Agency c/o Eyebeam 540 W. 21st St. New York, NY 10011
We’re relocating! Will be out of touch through mid September 2010. After that we’ll start to be available again to give these away. Please subscribe to out RSS feed and check back later.

You can also download an eps file of the sticker and make your own (you can leave out the AAA logo if you want).

En Español.

p style=”text-shadow: none;”>Note: I can put 5 in an envelope without an extra stamp. If you want more, send extra stamps. If you want to send a little donation too, that’s fine – we’ll use them to make a whole new sticker that’s in the works. If you want the spanish version too, I can send them out and they are always free. All I ask is that you send me back some photos of where you placed them.

You Don’t Need It – Stickers

Steve Lambert — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 21:37:04 +0000

Download an EPS file of the sticker and print your own!

Bus Stop Bench Field Report

Steve Lambert — Fri, 19 May 2006 07:55:01 +0000

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.