[denton-scratch]

> I would love it if there were no ads.

So would I; they're disfiguring ugly.

So would you ban shop signs? What about a shop-sign that simply said "Cafe"? Or "Meals"? That would be the end of chain stores (which I would not regret).

I don't mind shop signs; I do mind posters all over the street-scene.

The Post Office delivers about 4X as much unaddressed junk advertising pizzas and estate agents than real mail, and I object to that. In this country (UK), anyone can stuff whatever junk they like in your mailbox; in the US, I believe only USPS can put anything in your mailbox. Are USPS allowed to deliver unaddressed pizza fliers?

The best argument in favour of advertising is that it makes it possible for a new entrant to a market to make an impression; without it, markets would always be dominated by incumbents, give or take the occasional surprise. I don't know how to capture that benefit, without ending up with the whole world covered in billboards.

[account42]

We already regulate shop signs - compare e.g. streets in Asia vs. Europe. Completely different what is tolerated. Tolerating informative signage (e.g. non flashy signs telling you what shop you are looking at) is not incompatible with banning advertisements.

> The best argument in favour of advertising is that it makes it possible for a new entrant to a market to make an impression; without it, markets would always be dominated by incumbents, give or take the occasional surprise. I don't know how to capture that benefit, without ending up with the whole world covered in billboards.

I don't think that argument holds much water as ads require a big capital investment. The main reason new entrants need to advertise is because the incumbents are already advertising so you neeed to compete there just to get back the base level of engagement.