Most construction sites are plastered with ads for new music, concerts, products and, from time to time, real estate developments. Here’s a little snapshot of one such site, at Berry Street and N. 10, which reveals a bit about the state of things currently. First, one will note the Brooklyn-centric (“I Heart Brooklyn”) Cafe Bustelo ads. Then, we will add the Stueben 72 condo ads, which are currently everywhere in the Burg and urge people “Don’t just live in a neighborhood. Belong.” Ironically, they are across the street from 125 N. 10, which itself has been no slouch in wheatpasting the many neighborhoods with its own ads. The rest, of course, are the standard music ads.
1 response so far ↓
1 Frank // Aug 21, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I used to work for one of the two advertising (now there is only one) companies that do gorilla advertising here in NYC . There is very little thought put into those ads placed out there on the street and in your face, well less then you would think. These types of ads are part of a long history of the posting of bills that has gone on in NYC since the city was first built but I have to say that when I was doing that job it didn’t sit well with me. You basically go over to the advertising companies storage or warehouse or where they store the posters for the continual ad campaigns. Then they load you down with as many as you can drive around with along with a couple of huge barrels of glue. They send you to whatever neighborhood they think is currentl really trendy and so mainly I worked in Williamsburg, the meat packing district and The Lower East side. Then you find whatever surface would seem to work to paste the ads to and with the abundance of condos being built and new construction you never run out of space. It’s also illegal hence the name gorilla marketing. This is simply the advertising companies and the companies they represent trying to get in your face as much as possible. There’s very little thought put into the placement. Your paid per poster and or per space and that’s that. Afterwards pictures are taken and shown to the people who paid for the ad campaign and thats why they’re placed semi decently.
I had to quit. I wasn’t too stoked on helping advertisers get into young hipsters and yuppies pockets. And getting arrested for the almighty paper chase isn’t too fun either.
I think Bill Hicks says it best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo