Adblock Cardiff campaign calls for Welsh capital to ban outdoor advertising

On 7 February a new campaign – Adblock Cardiff – will be launched [1], with a petition calling on Cardiff City Council to ban corporate outdoor advertising from the city [2].

The campaign aims to reclaim public space from corporate advertising, for the benefit of citizens and visitors to the city.

The launch event will feature speakers from Adblock Bristol [3] who will share stories from their trailblazing campaign, which sparked the launch of Adblock Cardiff.

Over the past 18 months, Adblock Bristol has coordinated action that’s stopped 11 planning applications for large new digital advertising screens, and resulted in 50 smaller ‘InLink’ advertising units being rejected by Bristol City Council.

Attendees of the event will be invited to discuss how Cardiffians can build on the successes of Adblock Bristol in the context of Wales’s capital city.

Siôn Elis Williams, Founder of Adblock Cardiff, said:

“Outdoor advertising pollutes our minds by undermining our self-esteem and suggesting that we can buy happiness. But together we can resist invasive and damaging advertising in our streets to build a happier, healthier and calmer city.

“The Well-being of Future Generations Act requires public bodies in Wales to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people, communities and each other, and to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change [4]. Corporate advertising fuels all of these problems and more [5]. Cardiff City Council has a duty to put the Act into practice and an opportunity to protect its citizens and visitors from the harms caused by outdoor advertising, by banning it from the city.

“São Paulo and Grenoble have led the way to a future free from outdoor advertising with citywide bans [6] – Cardiff could be the first UK city to follow in their footsteps.”