City Parliament resolution: “Zero advertising” in Geneva from 2025


Status: 17.09.2021 3:52 a.m.

A city without commercial billboards? The “Zero Pub” project of a citizens’ initiative in Geneva is to become a reality. A left majority in parliament has decided that advertising should disappear from the city from 2025.

By Kathrin Hondl, ARD Studio Zurich

“Advertising spoils the urban landscape,” says Emmanuel Deonna from the “Zéro Pub” initiative – in other words: “zero advertising”. “Without advertising we would see the banks of the Arve and the beautiful trees on the quays.” But here, in the Carouge district of Geneva, several billboards installed one behind the other on the sidewalk block the view.

There is an advertisement for a health insurance company, for the Swiss supermarket chain Migros and the underwear brand Calida. “Sexist!”, Emmanuel comments on the photo with the young women in underpants and bras. The coffee capsules on the next poster don’t come off any better either. And certainly not the advertising for credit cards.

“They claim that we are welcome everywhere. With their gold cards and such. But unfortunately there are many people who neither have Visa nor Mastercard and who ask themselves every month how they can get a little money on their prepaid cards. Dreams are sold there that are inaccessible for many here in the district, “says Emmanuel.

Four years in action for the “liberation”

But that should be over soon. Geneva will be the first city in Switzerland to ban commercial advertising posters from public spaces from 2025. This is what the red-green majority in the city parliament has just decided. A first success for the “Zero Advertising” initiative. For four years she has been fighting for – as Emmanuel and his colleagues call it – the “liberation” of the streets of Geneva. The trigger at the time was an extraordinary situation: the contract with an advertising company had expired, the new one was not yet in force.

“For two weeks, 3,500 billboards remained empty,” reports Emmanuel. “And a lot of people began to paint, draw or just write slogans on the white surfaces. Real works of art were created. One had the impression that people were taking back their city. So why not just put an end to advertising ? “

There are many street artists in the Geneva district of Carouge – here a work of art from the “Pump Up The Jam” campaign. Gigantic murals were painted on buildings that were about to be demolished.

Image: EPA

Residents can get creative

Only posters for cultural events should be allowed in Geneva from 2025. Otherwise, the creativity of the citizens should be given a playground again. An idea in which the conservative-liberal opposition politician Michèle Roullet sees red – deep red.

This is Soviet-style censorship, she says: “It will be expensive for the city. We will lose almost 4.5 million Swiss francs in revenue. And it is to be feared that the creativity of the citizens will produce hideous graffiti on the vacant areas ! “

International rifle aid

A culture war has broken out over the advertising ban in Geneva, which is otherwise so dignified. The advocates of the “zero advertising” initiative are all the more pleased about international rifle aid.

“Geneva is the city of human rights, the United Nations and international organizations,” says Emmanuel. “And there is a long UN report on cultural human rights that says: Commercial advertising urges us to behave in a way that is harmful to people and the environment. Therefore, it should be restricted or banned as much as possible in order to protect our integrity.”

Zéro Pub – Zero advertising: Geneva should be free of advertising

Kathrin Hondl, ARD Geneva, September 16, 2021 4:52 p.m.



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