(Adnkronos) – ‘Revolution’ in advertising in Amsterdam. In public city spaces, hamburgers and SUVs ‘disappear’, culture ‘re-emerges’. The city’s ‘backdrop’ changes, reports the BBC after the ban came into force on May 1st, making Amsterdam the first capital in the world to prohibit advertising related to fossil fuels and meat-based products. Thus, the British network reports, images of petrol cars, succulent meat dishes, and airline advertisements have disappeared from billboards in metro stations and bus stops. For politicians, it’s a message; for trade associations, it’s a problem.
At one of the city’s busiest tram stops, the iconic Rijksmuseum, in the heart of Amsterdam, a piano concert ‘beats’ chicken nuggets, SUVs, and low-cost travel. For politicians, it’s a way to ensure Amsterdam is in ‘harmony’ with the local administration’s environmental goals. In Amsterdam, the British network notes, meat was not popular on billboards, which have always been full of clothing advertisements, movie posters, and mobile phones. And putting meat alongside flights, cruises, petrol, and diesel cars means including it in the climate change dossier.
The meat industry’s trade association could not but disagree, denouncing what it considers an “unpleasant way to influence consumer behavior” and insisting on the “nutritional value” of meat. For the association of travel agents and tour operators, prohibiting advertisements for potential holidays that include air travel means limiting the freedom of businesses. Before Amsterdam, in 2022, the nearby city of Haarlem was the first in the world to announce a ban – which then came into force two years later – on advertising for meat-based products.
