imagine a city with no billboards

This is not recent, but it was news to me. In Dec 2006 in Sao Paulo (largest city in Brasil) the mayor banned outdoor advertising including billboards, fliers, logos, and banners behind blimps and airplanes. The ban has gone into effect in spite of the avid resistance from advertisers and businesses. The public supports it, but businesses are suing for their "right" to plaster ads on everything. Chain businesses are finding other ways to stand out, for example by using certain architectural themes, or by painting their buildings a distinctive color. They can have smaller signs, the size of which is based on the size of their facades.
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