A group of artistic upstarts illegally yanked the ads out of approximately half of Astral Media’s 48 InfoToGo columns in Toronto on July 7, replacing them with what it described as “art-maps” created by local residents and artists. Is it art, or is it vandalism?
The group, which calls itself cARTographyTO, believes its mostly the former. One of the group’s leaders called it a “public messaging exercise,” with Bell and Corona ads replaced with everything from stylized maps of the surrounding area to a blue painted bicycle. One board was made to resemble the entrance to a private nightclub, complete with a velvet rope, a bouncer and a message reading: “Private pavement for diamond members only. Dress code strictly enforced,” a statement on advertising’s place in public space.
Others were even more pointed in their criticism of advertising, such as one containing the message: “We are here. Ads should not be.”
Astral Media, however, has asked the Toronto Police Service to investigate the hijacking.
Hugues Mousseau, director of corporate communications and synergies for Astral in Montreal, told Marketing that all of the InfoToGo columns—which combine local way-finding information with advertising—were restored to their former state in less than 48 hours.
He couldn’t provide an estimate as to what cARTographyTO’s actions cost Astral in terms of additional manpower and lost ad revenue.
The weekend hijacking was merely the latest salvo in a long-running battle between North American out-of-home companies such as Astral and public space advocates.
Depending on who’s speaking, of course, cARTographyTO’s actions were either a long overdue liberation of public space or an outright act of vandalism. One academic quoted in the National Post called it “vandalism at its best” and lauded the group’s “creativity and coordination.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of cARTographyTO told Marketing that the group’s actions were a measured response to what he deemed “sidewalk billboards” that provide little in the way of information.
“Instead of actually providing useful information in ways that are evident to the average person on the street, they’re really two very large billboards with a very mediocre map,” he said.
“What do we want in our public spaces? Do we want art or large billboards that block the sidewalks? The answer for the vast majority of people is we want streets that are beautiful and vibrant,” he said. “There’s a role for artists and activists to take that in their own hands.”
But Mousseau counters that Astral’s 20-year contract to supply the city with 26,000 pieces of street furniture ranging from transit shelters to park benches and litter receptacles, is a “major revenue stream” for the city that will contribute approximately $1 billion over the course of the agreement.
And, he adds, only the transit shelters and the InfoToGo columns—which represent only 16% of the total street furniture—carry advertising.
“This is a world-class program,” said Mousseau. “The reason Astral was selected was that the [street furniture] design is extremely respectful and mindful of the different areas of the city and the different architecture of each area, and it also gives the city 26,000 pieces of street furniture, of which the vast majority does not carry advertising.”
“Those are the largest, most visible pieces they could possibly advertise on, and they’re asking for a standing ovation?” said Carolyn Tripp, one of approximately 30 local artists whose work was included in the InfoToGo takeover.
“Since Astral won the bid to [supply] the city’s street furniture a few years back, there have been a lot of pillars that either block pedestrians view of oncoming traffic and transit, block [motorists’] view of street corners or are just generally a nuisance,” she said. “But apart from these pieces being in the way, they do not serve the city, and their fiscal impact is [minimal] compared to other revenue streams the city could continue to develop.”
Astral will install and maintain approximately 120 InfoToGo columns in Toronto over the life of the street furniture contract. The columns are expected to generate approximately $3.2 million per year in advertising revenue, which will be shared by Astral and the city.
Astral first installed five InfoToGo columns in Toronto in the spring of 2010, but it redesigned the units last year after city staff found a “number of issues” with their design and performance.
A city staff report found that the touch-screen technology incorporated in the original design required “high levels” of maintenance and had been rendered largely obsolete by the rapid adoption of “next generation” handheld devices.
The redesigned units, featuring what city staff described as a “more compact footprint and smaller dimensional profile,” began rolling out throughout the city last fall.
The cARTographyTO spokesperson said the organization’s ultimate goal is to increase public discourse around the use of public space and create awareness among out-of-home companies that there are “high expectations” from the public when they win contracts such as the coordinated street furniture program.
“They should take care to not only make as much money as they can out of the space, but really add quality,” he said. “That means really great furniture that lasts a long time.”
The spokesperson said the group came together over this one issue and had achieved all of its objectives with last weekend’s stunt. There are no plans for further action, he said.
What do you think of Toronto’s street furniture? Is cARTographyTO’s point one worth making? Post your thoughts in our comment section.
