This Were True

What would it be like if outdoor billboard ads were banned in NYC's Times
Square? To me part of the allure of Times Square is the ads. The
advertising, to me, is like artwork. Not only that, the lights and digital
screens brighten up Times Square to make it almost seem as though it's
daytime, even in the middle of the night.

Would Times Square feel as alive as it does right now if there were
billboards, no advertising, no flashing neon lights, and no television
screens? The reason I ask is that Sao Paulo, Brazil has just recently
banned all outdoor advertising in the city with the aim of bringing it
closer to being a perceived urban ideal. The city government of Sao Paulo
believes that a city without ads is better city.

Do outdoor ads really diminish the value of a city? What if the city has a
bland architecture? Remove the ads and it might make it worse. I was in the
formerly communist East Berlin a few years ago and I remember it being void
of any color. All the buildings looked the same and were a bland color. I
remember thinking that the city could use some bright billboards to liven
it up.

Advertising is a mainstay in business and outdoor advertising is one avenue
of the advertising pipeline. Some people hate ads because they are
constantly inundated by them. Not me. I like ads and I like advertising,
especially outdoor advertising. I shutter to think what Times Square would
like without any ads.

Sao Paulo, Brazil banned outdoor advertising. Imagine if NYC
banned it as well.