Adblock Reading, part of the Adfree Cities network, is campaigning for happier, healthier cities free from the pressures of corporate outdoor advertising – and the creeping surveillance technologies they contain. Find out how residents are pushing for policy solutions at the local council and national government levels to create cities that feel good to live in.

Speakers:

• Robbie Gillett from Adblock Bristol will discuss the development of surveillance advertising in public space – and how fossil fuel interests are utilising this technology – and what we can do about it.

• Chloe Naldrett from Adfree Cities on what we can learn from the campaign against tobacco advertising in the 1980s and 1990s and why we need a similar national ban on fossil fuel company advertising.

This event takes place around Digital Dystopia, a visual art experience designed to look like a mock advertising screen, with bold and engaging visuals designed by video artist Summer Dean. It is made from recycled electronic waste which has been re-engineered to reveal the tactics of misdirection and deception used by major polluters to maintain their social licence to operate.

The screen has been commissioned and built to engage members of the public and local policymakers in discussion around the ubiquity of advertising in our public spaces. It has been designed to draw attention to the way advertising is driving up demand for the most harmful and carbon-intensive products, and to highlight the greenwashing tactics used by big polluters to maintain both their social license and their stranglehold on our energy supplies.

And why? Because as wildfires ravaged Los Angeles this January 2025, fossil fuel companies took out ads across California to stop new climate legislation at the state level. In the UK, fossil fuel giant Shell has bought bus stop ad spaces to focus attention on its renewable projects, despite actively increasing its fossil fuel investments; adverts which were later deemed misleading by the UK advertising watchdog. All around us, advertisers are building new digital advertising screens in our streets with facial detection capabilities that allow adverts to target particular demographics without our consent.

Join us to discuss how we build sustainable futures beyond consumerism to meet our needs; and how to create urban spaces that centre community connection, solidarity, public art and access to nature.

For more info about Digital Dystopia and our UK Tour, click here.