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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Adding insult to injury

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Toronto Unlimited on Viacom information ad billboard, parkette south of Rosedale station

It’s not enough that the City has allowed Astral Media to put up massive billboards in our parks disguised as bogus “information pillars” — in defiance of the supposed policy banning advertising in city parks. It’s not enough that they insult our intelligence by only providing “information” in the form of a generic map whose only customization is a red star for “you are here” (in Montreal, the equivalent at least provides a detailed local map). It’s not enough that none of these pillars actually yet even dispense the crappy maps you’re supposed to be able to buy from them (shades of Viacom not putting the promised street names on the transit shelters they built for the city).

No, on top of that, the ads have to display the ridiculous, humiliating, much-derided and despised “Toronto Unlimited” advertising campaign, to rub our noses in the cheapness and lack of forethought that seems to characterise everything to do with adverstising policy in Toronto.

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