Students and teachers alike remove persistent advertisements from their vehicles every day, many ignoring the messages held and throwing them away immediately – either into the trash, their car, or onto the concrete with other litter.
The general lack of interest or even outright disdain for these advertisements raises the question of why they’re placed, and if they are actually effective advertisements.
Tony Noris, a 21-year-old art transfer student, agrees that they don’t seem effective when many people ignore and even toss aside the marketing attempts.
“I’ve never paid attention to them — just gotten rid of them,” Noris said.
A walk around the parking lots on campus can show students and teachers alike what many seem to do with the advertisements, as the papers litter the ground around the cars and greenery in the lots.
Nick Sumandra, a sign language instructor, says the unwelcome advertisements contribute to litter on campus, which leads to a negative view of the campus and decreases the morale of both students and teachers.
“I believe the more messy the campus is, the less it seems like a college,” Sumandra said, highlighting the effects litter like this has on the campus as a whole.
The more aggressive advertisements jammed between side windows and car doors are even worse for some students, as they can be difficult to remove safely.
Casey Spencer, treasurer for the Pierce Robotics Club, had a flyer placed on his car this way and his attempts to remove it made the paper fall down into his car door.
“There’s a flyer in my door now,” Spencer said. “Hopefully it doesn’t affect anything.”
Alongside the general disdain for the advertisements placed on cars, the legality of this marketing tactic is shaky at best in Los Angeles County.
Ordinance Code 2.132 of Los Angeles County seems to state that businesses may only advertise in places specifically in zones bought by the business and sanctioned by a board of supervisors.
Businesses could also be charged with littering under California’s Penal Code Title 10, Section 374.3, because advertising space must again be specifically sanctioned, zoned and bought by the business.
It seems this avenue of advertising will continue however, as it seems only a minor annoyance to those who receive the advertisements, and the sheriffs may not always have the time to be patrolling the lots for minor inconveniences.
