Arts Poster Megalomaniacs Is More Like It
Poster Giant is still at it.
While walking up the Hill on East Pine forty minutes ago, I passed a guy tearing down a large number of carefully-selected flyers off of telephone poles. At the next pole ahead of him, I stopped and started reading the posters. When he caught up to me, he started tearing down certain flyers, right in front of me - while engaged in a cell phone conversation.
“Why are you doing that?” I queried.
“I work for Poster Giant,” he replied, still on the cell phone, still ripping down flyers.
“Oh,” I said. “I’m an independent promoter.” (I am, for the record - and I’ve always tried to have a sense of decorum about who/what I cover when putting up my own flyers.)
“Well, these are covering up our posters,” PG guy said. “These are our poles.”
“Wait… you own these poles?”
“Yes.” He then returned to his phone conversation, ignoring me. “No, no, just some guy asking questions,” I heard him say to whomever was on the other end of the line. “No, I know… no more than three per pole.”
On my walk back from QFC ten minutes later, all the phone/utility poles on that side of Pine for several blocks were stripped bare of anything except the ubiquitous top-to-bottom, 100% coverage with events for big name clients on full-sized posters. Thanks Poster Megalomaniacs!
Alas, I don’t have a camera on my cell phone, or I’d have snapped the guy’s picture (he was wearing some amusing shoes, regardless of his poor poster etiquette). It was NOT the same gentleman pictured here a few days ago. But the offer still stands, Poster Giant - contact the paper and tell us why you’re targeting small promoters with these tactics: (206) 323 7101 and ask for Eli Sanders or Hannah Levin, or e-mail eli@thestranger.com or hlevin@thestranger.com .
Why don't you contact the city and ask them if it's legal? Or do they have no jurisdiction, or want to, on this matter?
Smart street teams paper businesses rather than poles anyway. Most ignore pole advertising.