Done in collaboration with Ripo.

Large corporations generate outdoor advertising platforms and rent the best locations to launch messages into public space that encourage brand consumption.

Renting parts of public space is a business for many: municipalities, outdoor advertising companies and brands: a terrace bar here, multicolored parking areas everywhere, new “public” bicycles for renting, billboards, tarps covering buildings selling whatever … any excuse is good to take advantage of public space.

These companies sell these products as follows:

• strategic locations.
• Excellent presentation.
• Maintenance and inspection of all media.
• Impact 24h (illuminated billboards).
• Vision Support 100% front (perpendicular to traffic).

Therefore, a billboard is valuable because its high visibility in the public space. Price differences vary depending on the quality of the billboard (size, location…) and the ammount of them contracted.

But are billboards the only advertising systems that we face out there? Obviously not. When we buy a garment that meets our needs, we often accept that their brand is in a clearly visible place. Even some people buy clothes based on the visibility of the brand.

This practice reminds us of the human billboard, an advertising technique whereby a person carries advertising on its body.

His mission is strolling with their advertising, and distributing promotional memes. Its greatest value is obtained when transiting through relational areas such as those of work and leisure. Previously they were financially remunerated. Today, people pays for becoming one of them. Again, marketing 2.0 developed by users.

This kind of advertising is set up on all products to be used in public spaces, such as laptops, cars, school backpacks …

To avoid free advertising to brands, we propose 2 solutions:

Solution 1: Debranding

1. Do not buy products that may meet our needs but, also try to use us as “billboard people”
2. Buy products that do not show off his trademark.
3. Buy products that, while taking the brand visible, this is easy to hide or remove.

Debranding is a term that intend to coin an attitude: We can succumb to the charms that a brand can offer, but in no way are we going to do free advertising for them. Removing or covering the brand, it becames a generic product, according to our anti advertising principles.

To remove labels sewn and embroidered in clothing and accessories we need:

Remove wires, cutter, scissors or any sharp tool.

With patience, you remove all visible labels on your clothing and accessories.

Labels that cannot easily be eliminated with the previous method, can be modified in several different ways:

Stickers, badges, patches, or stepping on the flag with a design we are also very effective tool.

Solution 2: Individual advertisement

As we have seen before, a person in public spaces may offer similar benefits, if not better.

Therefore, billboards and people would be comparable as external support available for the positioning of advertisement. What about prices? If brands have to pay to exhibit in the public space on static media, why should not do it on dynamic media such as people? Prices for advertising in public space are;

What would an avarage pedestrian cost?

For us, as for many other people, massive outdoor advertising is a problem: promotes excessive and careless consumption , it’s ugly, obscene and visually pollute the environment and spirits.

As a problem to us, we want to find a solution.

SUBVERTISING

Subvertising is a technique that seeks to subvert, or at least question the message.

However, we believe that its real effectiveness is null or even counterproductive for the goal that has been created. Perhaps the message subverted ad questioning but also reinforces the brand. Generating controversy is a key factor in most campaigns, and is a largely explained strategy in marketing bibliography.

Therefore, we believe that subvertising is marketing 2.0, that made by users without wanting to, without knowing it, without charge, and on, believing that it is a critical tool. As has happened in several campaigns, subvertising itself is part of a guerrilla marketing campaign . Street marketing is a technique used mostly in central Europe and it works like this:

1. Companies launch the street marketing campaign.
2. They wait for the reaction of the target, which normally consists of “subversive” alterations in the advertising format.
3. Reaction is incorporated as part of the campaign, launching the second and final phase of ads, which include the “subversive” changes obtained.

What happened?

1. They have turned off the most critical and creative direct answer.
2. They have incorporated the target (young, urban and creative) to the brand dynamics .

AD BUFFING

We believe that one way to do subvertising is not doing it at all, not using their language, not to using their logos. Buffing is a concept created for the cleanup in the railway system in New York in the early times of graffiti. From there it was extended, indicating any action to clear graffiti.

We present below three examples of how doing it:

Option 1: trash container

This is the best place for advertising.

Option 2: billboards

If the posters are glued properly, the option would be as follows:

Option 3: eyetracking

You can always be creative. Eye tracking is a term that refers to the process that evaluates the point where the gaze is fixed or the movement of the eye. This process is used in research on visual systems in psychology, in cognitive linguistics and in product design. In this case, the hot zones are the most significant for the design concerning its effectiveness to communicate. Where there was relevant information for the ad is where we have put more effort into covering.