Mobile Advertising Madness

Not to beat a dead horse, but where should we draw the line on advertising around Kingston? It’s a question I’ve asked before, specifically pertaining to the content displayed on the city’s fleet of buses. Today I’m moving away from the lukewarm conversation we’ve had about brands and messages on public transit, and focusing on mobile billboards. This past weekend I noticed a vehicle equipped with a massive billboard announcing the grand opening of the new Rexall PharmaPlus on the corner of Taylor-Kidd and Centennial. I spotted the truck driving aimlessly around the RioCan and downtown, all the while contributing to global warming, congesting our roads, and cluttering the cityscape with yet another ad. In comparison, at least the advertisement-clad Kingston Transit buses serve to take cars off the road and move people around the city. So, should City Hall create a bylaw to curb mobile advertising in Kingston before these single serving vehicles become commonplace?