Shame on the Bay Centre in Victoria B.C. Canada for their abuse of a public space: the sidewalks of Victoria B.C. Canada. In a cynical attempt at being gritty, edgy and on the fringe this latest attempt by a local marketing agency falls flat like so much scattered waste from a sea gull.
In my often downtown forays into the urban shell, I spend a lot of time looking into windows and into faces – never are my eyes forced downward on to the sidewalk other than to change course from some inadvertently deposited animal dropping. So what is up with the dated concept of guerrilla marketing by Eclipse Creative in Victoria?
I mean – do they have a permit for this? Or is this another one of them brilliant IKEA IDEAS?
In a recent conversation with one of their agents (who will remain nameless…) she revealed… “Permit? I do not think so. Do we need one? Gee. I don’t know…”
It seems the Bay Centre “Maintenance Crew” used the stencils provided to them by Eclipse Creative to spray a water soluble material onto the public sidewalks.
So what is stopping me from spraying over their message with my message?
Which is: “get out of my face already…”
Do you have any idea how fast I would have the cuffs slapped on me if I created my own special and unique message on a public sidewalk?
Anyway. Eclipse Creatives attempt at edginess is so yesterday. As a former member of the Prada team pointed out, this was so done in the 90’s.
Welcome to the 21st century baby.
Buzz not achieved.
Try again.
Comments
6 responses to “Rage against the Machine – corporate vandalism of public spaces.”
I walked over the same ad today and scoffed. No space is safe apparently.
Visit the website. Note the designer. They are locals. E-Mail them. Ask why they are defacing our public space.
Such an old hat- they stole the idea, albeit a better one- from Pat Field’s early 90’s campaign. She stenciled on the sidewalk in front of her Greenwich Village NYC fashion store: “From here it looks like you need new underwear”. And washed it off a couple of days later when the press talked about it.
Sad thing is that advertising designers still feel a rewarding ‘pioneer spirit’ when they get under the public’s increasingly thick skin. Why not placing website addresses inside urinals? A guy’s got to stare into those while aiming…
Seen in passing at a Tim Horton’s — actually while I was peeing… at the urinal.
The familiar coffee ring stain of a coffee cup… on the TOP of the Urinal.
Eeeeeeewwwww!
Colin, you were at a Tim Hortons. Chance of someone peeing in the coffee regardless of proximity to the urinal is higher than you might think.
Actually heard from the creative team that created these “leading edge” stencils.
No permit by the sounds of it.