Anti Adscreen Project

Turning Advertising Screens into Public Commons

When visiting Tokyo, we are struck by the noise of advertising in public spaces. This form of pollution affects not only the atmosphere but also invades the minds of those living in it. What if these public screens could regain their original purpose as public media, much like traditional bulletin boards, to foster local communication?

The Anti Adscreen Project aims to transform these advertising screens into citizen-driven media. At Futago Tamagawa Station in Tokyo, we installed an interactive display to collect questions from the public. The system records the process of handwriting a question as a time-lapse animation, which is then instantly displayed on the station’s public screens. Additionally, these questions are shared via Twitter, extending their reach into the broader public sphere. Many of these questions were exposed to commuters at Futago Tamagawa Station. During this special hack event, the station’s advertising screens were not filled with advertisements, but rather with the curiosity of the citizens.