Dear Danny

I mean, they look cute enough.

Last week, Philadelphia Media Holdings (PMH), the company that owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, announced that it planned to cover Inquirer’s building with an ad and an inflatable bee for Jerry Seinfeld’s, Bee Movie. On Friday, PMH withdrew their proposal.

I couldn’t bee happier.

Now on first glance, this proposal, and all forms of outdoor advertising in the city, might not look too bad. The historical Philadelphia Inquirer building is up for sale, and who knows? Added revenue might help keep this building preserved. Brian Tierney, PMH’s CEO, called the proposal “fun” and told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wanted to attract “national attention” towards Center City.

But in 1991, Philadelphia passed extensive outdoor advertising regulations. Large signs on buildings or near neighborhoods were banned. But advertisers can always go to the Philadelphia Zoning Board to ask for a “variance.” With variance after variance approved in recent years, the rule of law in Philadelphia isn’t looking too hot.

Mary Tracy, executive director of SCRUB (Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight), brought up another reason. “It adds to the vitality of the cityscape to see all these types of architecture. Then we put up wall wraps…it all starts to look the same,” she explained. “This city is very rich in architectural assets. That character of our city is so beautiful when you just stop and look up.”

And then the whole issue of redevelopment crops up. Take, for example, Mr. Real Estate and his vacant building on the outskirts of Northern Liberties. The area is starting to come back to life; it might be time to go from vacant to vibrant. But then Mr. Real Estate gets an offer from Mr. Marketing. The vacant building is draped in advertisements, and Mr. Marketing pays $30,000 a month. Suddenly, redevelopment looks like too much effort for Mr. Real Estate. A vacant building continues to go unoccupied.

And Mr. Marketing doesn’t sell building wraps in Mt. Airy or other ritzy areas of the city. They’re sold in the poor neighborhoods and their presence just perpetuates the neighborhood’s poor image.

The reasons are endless, but Mary Tracy and her group are staying vigilant. “The outdoor advertising industry is so anxious to get a foothold, a toehold in our city. [They say] we’ll go after SEPTA or the Inquirer, they’re not doing as well…but it’s the law.”

This whole Bee Movie fiasco should serve as a warning to future attempts at outdoor advertising: buzz off!

Dear Danny appears ever Monday and Wednesday.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 10:40 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.