Now banned in the Lyon metro, advertising screens continue to multiply in cities

For advertisers, these are effective tools to attract the attention of consumers. But for advocates of sobriety, this is nonsense.

There will now be no more advertising screens in the Lyon metro. The 118 screens were turned off during the night of March 31 to April 1 and will soon be removed. The decision was taken by the Lyon metropolitan area with a view to energy efficiency. But these digital screens have nevertheless been multiplying in public spaces for several years in windows, the metro, train stations or supermarkets… For advertisers, they are effective tools for attracting the attention of consumers. But for advocates of sobriety, this is nonsense.

In Paris, these screens are banned in the streets, but advertisers have found a solution by installing them in windows. “The environmental code provides that it is outdoor advertising that is regulatedexplains Thomas Bourgenot, advocacy officer for the Resistance to Advertising Aggression association. So as soon as we are in private premises, including if it is visible on the public highway, the code no longer applies.”

“Bringing an entire economic sector to its knees”

And this is the case in the window of this convenience store. “There, you have advertising for this Carrefour, but then you have more classic advertisements: real estate sites or the TV program for example”, explains Thomas Bourgenot. There are more than 3,000 screens like this in the capital’s transport and shops.

“At home, we turn off the lights when we go out, and there, we have these screens which are only there to sell us things that we don’t necessarily need.”

Thomas Bourgenot, advocacy officer for Resistance to Advertising Aggression

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However, these devices have their followers like Stéphane Buchou, deputy for Vendée, who fought a bill a year ago which aimed to ban them. “It contravenes our freedom to undertake, he says. It was also bringing an entire economic sector to its knees. If we start banning that, tomorrow we’ll ban everything: phones, tablets, computers.”

According to the ecological transition agency, an advertising screen consumes on average the equivalent of a household’s annual consumption for lighting and household appliances.