Toyota Bridge of Sighs
Bridge of Sighs
Now the one thing about Venice which every schoolboy knows is that the roads in Venice are a little damp. Well more than damp, downright wet owing to the fact that they are canals. A car in Venice is about as useful as a knife and fork is to a fish. So the fact that Toyota have advertised on the awning shows either a desire by the local council to accept advertising from anybody; Toyota thought by doing it they would get lots of ironic publicity or they bid the most to appear. Couldn’t they have found a more relevant advertiser like Mercury or Yamaha outboard engines? Couldn’t a relevant Italian company be found like Ruggerini? And if not relevant, wasn’t Fiat even interested?
The bridge in front is a Toyota
When restoration has taken place on other major buildings in Venice there have been awnings but not daubed with third party advertising. They have been images that almost blended in with the surroundings or contained notices about when it might re-open. Even when the casino on the Grand Canal had some work done, the awning blended. Is civic pride a thing of the past? What we have now is council sponsored graffiti.
You could argue that the Toyota advert isn’t very overpowering but where do you draw the line? Admittedly the money to restore much of Venice is huge but isn’t there a dividing line between tat and support? Doesn’t it belittle the city when it has to admit that it can’t even support its own heritage? Why don’t they just go the whole hog and rename the place Toyota Venice and turn the bus station into a giant Toyota dealership and have done with it?
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This seems a particular problem in Italy. A few years ago I was appalled to see in Rome that Trinita da Monte, at the top of the Spanish steps, was completely obscured by a large advertiment hoarding. I have seen many others. I understand the problems of financing renovation bt surely, iconic buildings etc shold not be defaced in this way!
[...] Mr Clooney?The advertising hoarding around the Bridge of Sighs which was promoting Toyota in May (see CD-Traveller) has thankfully gone. Now the Bridge is clear again, unlike part of St Mark’s Square which [...]