So busy with conferences I completely missed the news that the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board decided to allow a $48 billion home improvement corporation to advertise on our playgrounds and parks (Ad creeps lurk around Minneapolis public playgrounds).

Unlike television advertising, our public park is not something parents can “just turn off.” 

Naomi Klein, author of No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs:

It’s one of the ironies of our branded age, that unbranded space. Public space, or pseudo-public space, is now a luxury item that is only really available to the very rich. Once you move up the class hierarchy, things get a lot more tranquil and quiet, and you sort of pay not to be marketed to.

The banner ads are scheduled to remain in the parks until December. When they are damaged, however, they will be removed and not replaced.

Image courtesy timlings

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 10:48 am and is filed under Public Space, The Problem. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.