Advertising: There's No Escape

Invasive and unavoidable, captive marketing is grabbing more consumers everywhere they have to go

Long ago, someone very clever realized that public rest rooms make great places to advertise. What was usually being advertised, unfortunately, was an ex-girlfriend's easy virtue. It took a while, but now better-organized and richly financed marketing campaigns by Snapple and Comedy Central, among others, are capitalizing on the potential of stalls and urinals--numerous flat surfaces, a steady procession of customers and, most important, a consumer sure to be fixed in one place for long minutes with nowhere else to look.

While many may find this development invasive or downright creepy, it's important to see things from the point of view...

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