From the endless projections within Times Square to the once-quiet streets of Portland, residents are voicing concerns about a growing issue: the rise of energy-wasting, light-polluting advertisement billboards that are beginning to dominate urban skylines.

A recent post to the subreddit r/askportland captured the frustration.

"Does anyone know anything about these new video ads being on the side of the buildings?" asked the OP. They featured a picture of the bright billboard against the city's skyline.

"Is downtown turning into Times Square now?" they asked.

Their question has reignited a larger conversation about "ad creep," which is the steady infiltration of advertising into every corner of public life. With this phenomenon heightened by new forms of media, seldom can a resident now go a day without seeing advertisements compelling them to consume. As advertisements have grown, endless consumption that boosts pollution has come with them, according to Earth.org.

David Park, an associate professor at Florida International University, explained that "much of production in capitalism has little to do with the satisfaction of genuine human needs and more to do with the profit motive that drives extraction of raw materials to produce a never-ending supply of goods."

The problem does not stop at consumerism. These massive digital billboards consume enormous amounts of energy themselves, contributing to both light and energy pollution. A 2022 study cited by Positive News found that each large digital screen uses the energy equivalent of 11 U.K. households annually. 

Pollution from advertisements has grown so large that it has been dubbed "advertised emissions," which has contributed to an 11% rise in polluting emissions in the U.K. alone between 2019 and 2022, the equivalent of adding "an extra 28% to the carbon footprint of every U.K. citizen annually."

These findings are so worrying that swaths of organizations across the world are urging for ad-free cities. They maintain that without the energy consumption and consumer waste that comes from advertisements, opportunities for community togetherness, creative expression, and even rewilding areas can be gained. 

Beyond just community groups, some cities have enacted regulations against advertisements. Amsterdam, Santa Monica, and Paris are just some of the cities listening to the demands of residents who find the advertisements difficult to their livelihood.

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Redditors are keen to see the advert in Portland disappear.

"Whatever it is, I hate it," wrote one.

Another stated, "It's wild how this is okay, but streetlights and reflective paint are not after 4 PM or on dark rainy nights in the winter."

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