4/1/16 AD CLEANSE DAY (Project for MED 399)

It's hard enough living in New York City without having products and services shoved in our faces on a constant basis. It seems that every empty space in the city has been filled with ads on top of other ads. It's nauseating

And of course, the best example of the overbearing ads in NYC can be found in the subway. There you'll find ads on the walls of the stations and platforms, on the walls within the train cars, and even on the trains themselves.

As you probably know, I'm not the first one to complain about advertising in public spaces. Companies have looked to every possible object or screen that they can put their names on. It's impossible to escape. If you look straight, you'll see a poster. If you look up, you might see a billboard or an airplane banner. If you look down, you might see an ad on a parking lot divider. (That's a real thing.) And if you accidentally pop a curb because you're distracted by one of those parking lot divider ads, you can get a parking ticket with an ad on it. (Also a real thing.)

These ads are defacements. They've turned our city into an ugly mess of colors, words, and airbrushed models, and our city is crying because of it. It is our job as New Yorkers to clean up this mess. What I'm proposing is simple. I'm calling upon all of you wonderful New Yorkers to beautify your city by removing these ads. I'm talking about subway ads, posters, even billboards if you're bold enough. On April 1st, go forth and take back your city!

Subway platform ads are easy. They are large sheets with adhesive backs that can be easily cut out with a razor blade or box cutter (both of which are legal to carry in New York :) .) Simply cut along the edges of the ad and rip it off by one of the corners. You can even cut up certain parts of the ad and stick em on to other ads (no glue or tape required) to create some fun collage art!

Creative vandalism is definitely encouraged!

Posters which are often plastered in neighborhoods like SoHo, often times on the wooden barriers of construction sites, are also easy targets. Remember, no ad is safe. Whether they're pedaling jeans or your favorite band's new album, tear that shit down! (The ad for the album could make a cool poster for your apartment!)

Most importantly, have fun with it. Be as creative as your mind allows. If you find a way to knock out a big target like a billboard or bus ad, you'll be a hero in all of our eyes. It's like an awesome game where everybody wins!

So save the date. April 1, 2016. The day we clean up the commercial diarrhea that's stinking up our city.