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Outdoor advertising in Hawaii
Sep. 11th, 2003 11:30 amhttp://starbulletin.com/2003/09/11/news/story10.html
Not going to spend a lot of time on this entry, as I'm at work (though it's lunchtime, so it's not all that bad). However, I did at least want to sound off on one particular issue.
Outdoor ads, adverts, advertisements, whatever you want to call them... In the U.S., and even in Canada, you see them everywhere... as billboards, on the outside of buses, and on the outside of taxis. Here, local ordinances prohibit billboards, aerial banners, and advertising on the outside of buses or taxis (inside buses is okay though). I don't think I've seen any ads inside taxis here, but then again it's been a while since I last took a taxi here.
Personally, I'd rather NOT see outdoor ads here. Why? It's part of what makes Hawaii unique and what keeps it, in my opinion, clean (read: uncluttered). Hawaii has lost a lot of its "local" flavor since the 1970s, with many people who grew up here heading for the mainland and vice versa. As much as I hate to say it, I can see a time down the road when everyone in the state will have come from the mainland. That'll probably be when we start seeing outdoor ads all over the state, on buses, taxis, etc. Hopefully I'm wrong, or that at least it doesn't happen during my lifetime.
I understand that billboards and advertising would add $$$ to the state's budget and could be very helpful, especially with the ongoing bus drivers'/mechanics' strike, but would the value added really be worth the tradeoff of the beautiful, scenic Hawaiian scenery? I would imagine that most of our visitors come here because Hawaii has no billboards or advertising.
Unfortunately, it's appearing more and more that Hawaii won't be able to survive unless it becomes more and more like the CONUS, a "selling out," if you will. We've probably already been doing it since the plantation days, only it seems to have accelerated a lot more in the past few years.
Thoughts? Comments?
Not going to spend a lot of time on this entry, as I'm at work (though it's lunchtime, so it's not all that bad). However, I did at least want to sound off on one particular issue.
Outdoor ads, adverts, advertisements, whatever you want to call them... In the U.S., and even in Canada, you see them everywhere... as billboards, on the outside of buses, and on the outside of taxis. Here, local ordinances prohibit billboards, aerial banners, and advertising on the outside of buses or taxis (inside buses is okay though). I don't think I've seen any ads inside taxis here, but then again it's been a while since I last took a taxi here.
Personally, I'd rather NOT see outdoor ads here. Why? It's part of what makes Hawaii unique and what keeps it, in my opinion, clean (read: uncluttered). Hawaii has lost a lot of its "local" flavor since the 1970s, with many people who grew up here heading for the mainland and vice versa. As much as I hate to say it, I can see a time down the road when everyone in the state will have come from the mainland. That'll probably be when we start seeing outdoor ads all over the state, on buses, taxis, etc. Hopefully I'm wrong, or that at least it doesn't happen during my lifetime.
I understand that billboards and advertising would add $$$ to the state's budget and could be very helpful, especially with the ongoing bus drivers'/mechanics' strike, but would the value added really be worth the tradeoff of the beautiful, scenic Hawaiian scenery? I would imagine that most of our visitors come here because Hawaii has no billboards or advertising.
Unfortunately, it's appearing more and more that Hawaii won't be able to survive unless it becomes more and more like the CONUS, a "selling out," if you will. We've probably already been doing it since the plantation days, only it seems to have accelerated a lot more in the past few years.
Thoughts? Comments?
