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After public outcry last week, Major League Baseball backed away from a $3.6 million deal to emblazon Spider-Man 2 logos on the bases in ball parks throughout the country.
My spider senses tell me, however, that it's only a matter of time
before we've plastered ads over every inch of every sports arena in
America. Barry Bonds won't just step up to home plate. He'll step up to
the Home Depot home plate, "where All-Stars score big savings."
These days, advertisers are playing ball with everyone, and
there's no such thing as foul territory. They're slapping ads on
treadmills at the gym, on airplane food trays, at the bottom of public
swimming pools, and any place else they can reach media-hardened
consumers.
You can't turn to the police, who have squad cars festooned with fast-food ads in more than two dozen cities.
Volunteer firetrucks in South Carolina can now advertise
honest-to-goodness fire sales, thanks to a ruling last by the state's
ethics panel. Even ambulances might be turned into rolling billboards
in parts of Indiana.
You can't even expect a moment of peace in the bathroom, since Madison
Avenue's best and brightest have turned to writing on the walls of
public restrooms.
Lets take a look at how contemporary advertising reaches out and touches us when we're least expecting it.
Heady Stunts: If
you can't get a job using your head, you could get one using your
forehead. Cunning Stunts — a British media company — rents advertising
space on young adults, typically college students. It's a
$7-an-hour-gig.
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