Pictures of cats without any text are going to replace the ubiquitous adverts on the underground at Clapham Common Station, UK for two weeks starting 12th September because “friends and experiences are more valuable than stuff you can buy”. The quote comes from Mr Turner who was speaking on behalf of a 200-strong group called Glimpse.
The idea, quite clearly, is to at least temporarily improve the quality of life of commuters on the Underground in London and to provide them with a relaxing, fun and light-hearted space free from commercial adverts so say Citizens Advertising Takeover Service (CATS).
About 700 people helped Citizens Advertising Takeover Service to buy the advertising space at Clapham Common station by raising £23,000.
James Turner said that the idea had caught the imagination of people as everybody loves cats. Not quite everybody but a lot of people quite certainly do.
“The idea of a relaxing and peaceful space just with pictures of cats is appealing. People are interested because there’s no brand, no commercial reason for doing it.”
Yes, I agree that people need a respite from the bombardment of advertising when travelling to and from work. Something a little kinder on the eyes is certainly a good idea. And something to ease the mad rush to make money and survive.
Is this a symptom of the desire of the people of London to improve the quality of their lives? At the moment competition is high. People are on a treadmill. I believe that there has never been more pressure on families and workers in the UK and especially London to earn a living. Wages are too low partly, perhaps substantially, because of the high influx of immigrant workers into London who accept low wages thereby forcing down wages for the population generally. There’s a big discussion point at the moment in the UK.
There is a high proportion of people with a lot of family debt which is only serviceable because interest rates are so low. If interest rates were to climb then many people would become bankrupt. Families are taking out loans to pay for day to day outgoings which is clearly unsatisfactory. Workers need some fun and pictures of cats even for two weeks can do that.
Really cool idea*
I would love to see the same thing happen in the U.S.!
Me too. It is nice that they raised £23k to make travelling on the tube more enjoyable in that area for two weeks. Pretty impressive effort. And to choose cat pictures amongst all the possible choices is nice too.
Awesome. I’m with Eva. Let’s bring to all countries.
An idea that I’d like to see expanded.