Posts
David Brisbin sent this to me this am with the following comment:
"It is a Coke ad for the Olympics displaying hockey and broadcasting the message " Let's make sure everyone knows whose game it is." There are a couple of pools of Canadian flags, and a good spattering of red and white -- so that the half attentive might think it is suggesting that hockey is 'Canada's game'. But when you look at the visuals, and particularly the cutting of the ending, the actual message is that the game is Coca Cola's. One sort of knows that the Olympics are primarily for the corps -- but this is open about it in a way I wouldn't have expected."
I too was really struck by the corporate/securitization underway in Vancouver when I was there in November. If you're not familiar with the branding & securitization of Vancouver that's happening for the Olympics, the legislation that has been passed in support of putting Canada's best (branded) face forward is really startling. An earlier post of the securitization billboards calling on citizens to report the suspicious is one example.
Another is the banning of any promotional images for competitors of Olympic corporate supporters - Coke is in, Pepsi is out - which ok I see the logic of. The legislation below however also opens up the right of police to remove anti-Olympic signage or signage that is deemed and in circumstances, to fine those who post said ads or images.
The following can be found under "Regulation of commercial activities in public spaces" and the specific heading re. "Freedom of Expression":
"the removal of illegal commercial signs from private property will be made by the city manager....based on the following criteria:
a) visibility of the illegal sign...
b) aesthetic impact of the sign on the city's image
c) potential risk to health or safety of anyone"
---------
While the first is measurable, the two following have a wide latitude in terms of how these criteria will be assessed - who decides aesthetic impact? and on what criteria?
Another measure that has generated a pushback from groups that support the homeless is the planned removal of the street people from the Lower East Side. Their relocation to 'other' shelters raises questions as to what measures will be taken when shelter accommodation can't be found for all of the street people.
http://vancouver.ca/mediaroom/news/pdf/2010WinterGamesBy-lawTechnicalBriefing-November2509.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment