PublicAdCampaign

NY Street Advertising Takeover

New York City

2009

Advertising dominates the urban realm, plastered over billboards, building walls, street furniture, and automobiles. Tired of this visual and mental pollution – and indignant that much of street advertising is illegal – Jordan Seiler, founder of PublicAdCampaign, organized the New York Street Advertising Takeover. After three months of preparation, for one day Seiler and a team of 20 set out with military precision to hundreds of locations, where they whitewashed 20,000 square feet of illegal advertising. Over one hundred artists, activists, and residents then claimed this liberated space with their own artistic or personal sentiments. As a result, the city took action against the most offensive illegal advertiser. Seiler hopes for an urban citizenry that shares in the curation of the public environment.

Community, Information, Pleasure
2,500 not including legal fees incurred
89 days preparation + 1 day execution
120 approximately
Problem - corporatization of public space
Solution - citizen reclamation of the visual realm