Commercial Commandos

Let me tell you a little story. In 2003, a group of anti-advertising vigilantes infiltrated metro stations all over France, and in the course of a summer managed to deface or destroy nearly all of the advertisements (publicités) in all of the stations. Not just in Paris, either.

These groups became a national phenomenon, springing up in Lyon, Lille, Marseilles, and other large centers of commerce. They asserted that ads “rape” the public and assault our sensibilities. They were systematically executing very specific stabs at one of capitalism’s most vital organs, it’s ability to reach consumers through advertisement.

The whole effort was a bit Fight Club-esque, but finally, their Tyler Durden was captured and imprisoned for the millions of euros in damage his activism had spawned. Within the past week, his case entered the courtroom, and with it began a resurgence of anti-advertisement vandalism in the metro.

TODAY I bore witness to a small part of the activism:



That translates to: "You have the right not to be subjected to ads."

Pretty tame, but it was a little cool to finally see some of the fruits of their labor. Before today, it had been something I had heard about, but not seen firsthand.