Media Log #11: San Francisco

    My family and I recently took a trip down to San Fransisco.  Upon entering the city, you can already see the numerous huge billboards off the highway advertising things from Coke to insurance; you can't miss these billboards.  It only gets worse once you enter the city.  I've always known that there are many ads in San Fransisco, but I never really noted how much there actually were.  I actually paid attention this time, and I noticed that on the streets there were literally ads on every corner or even more.  This especially rings true in Union Square where there are already so many stores to shop at.  It was overwhelming seeing so many ads, especially since one of those circular ad holders can hold more than one ad.  
     Even in the mall, they have ads everywhere.  I know they usually have some ads in malls, but I felt that it went a little overboard in the Westfield San Fransisco Centre.  I remember an ad holder on the ground floor near the food court that was advertising eating vegetables and the movie Labor Day.  Are people really going to notice an ad in a mall where everybody is too busy shopping, especially in a mall as big as that one?  I only noticed it because I was eating, so I guess it's strategic to put an ad near the food court where people sitting down.  Everyone one of the many directories they had had an ad on the back of it.  But even though I took a glance at what they were advertising, I don't remember what they were trying to sell.  If I was actually paying attention to the ads and can't recall a single ad from there, how do you expect the ordinary shopper to remember them?  I'm not saying that ads in malls are bad, but I question how useful they are.    
     What I found out to be the most surprising is that they now put ads inside of taxis.  That's right, not outside on a taxi, but inside of one.  I don't know how long they have been doing this, since I don't think I have ever rode in a taxi in San Fransisco until now.  Companies have been putting ads on the outside of taxis for a long time now, and they are quite effective, especially in big cities where you see them everywhere.  I don't know if putting ads in taxis is specific to San Fransisco, but now, if you ride in the back of a taxi, you can't help but noticing the various ads that pop up on the small screen.  It's actually quite a brilliant idea since many people ride taxis everyday, especially in big cities like San Fransisco, and will see these ads.   It's probably even more effective than putting ads on the outsides of taxis. 
      I didn't start to notice just how much media is advertised in San Fransisco until I started studying media.  Image what it must be like for the people who live in San Fransisco.  I wonder how they don't get annoyed with all these ads.  I guess they don't really notice it since they've been surrounded by them for such a long time and probably have gotten used to them.