In the Chapter Advertising And Public Space by Lauren Rosewarne, the author writes about how the exposure to public advertisements is often unavoidable. So unlike on TV where you can change the channel or a magazine where you can flip the page, with a huge billboard a person is forced to see it. Many of these advertisements according to Rosewarne are of sexualized women which is has become an issue with women. In turn “This chapter suggests that such sexist portrayls may sexually harass women and fuel women’s offence and perceptions of fear, thus inhibiting their equality” (Rosewarne 9). According to Rosewarne this practice began in 1911 with Woodys Soap Campaign. These ads seem to create fear in women that men will not be able to see them in any other way other then as a sexualized object. Public ads according to this chapter have become a public policy concern. The main reason for this is because of “audience capture” which an audience that is forced to look at or listen to something because of the situation they are in. So these ads are unavoidable in the same way a stoplight is unavoidable when driving on a busy street. The image I chose of the two sexualized women advertising a law firm I believe is indicative of the current situation with billboards. This is because often people see billboards for law firms, however this law firm is using attractive women to gain more costumer recognition. This seems very corrupt because the law firm has nothing to do with attractive women and it is clear that they are just using them to attract more clients.
In the Chapter titled When Separate Spheres Collide by Catherine Gudis, the author writes about how women have been big advocates of the elimination of billboards. The issue with the ads was not only the content but also “Their size and form were equally troublesome” (Gudis 167). According to the chapter these ads were robbing the societies of “civic beauty.” Organizations began forming to protest these billboards, such as the National Roadside Council and the National Highway Association. Courts however have ruled for many years that it is a misuse of police power to intervene on these advertisements. The chapter goes on to talk about the efforts the NRC made to protest the use of billboard advertisements. Success came when big companies such as Pillsbury Flour and Gulf Oil agreed to limit their billboards to commercial areas only. The image I chose of Time Square in New York City is because when I think of billboards this is the first thing that comes to mind. This is because Times Square may be the highest concentration of Billboards in the world. It is interesting that Times Square is such a tourist attraction when it seems that the majority of people in general dislikes billboards. However in the case of Time Square the collection of all the different billboards almost looks like modern art. Personally I have always wondered why it is has been such a big attraction for people visiting New York City.
