Project E: Roadside Advertisements in Brunei
By students: Aizen Syamsiah Bte Hj Puasa, Roslina Binti Awang Ambun, Irma Suriani
Bte Hj Abd Majid and Rosalfina Bte Hj Ramli
Problems:
Many local and international companies choose to erect eye-catching advertisements alongside busy Brunei roads. Junctions where people in cars wait for traffic lights to change and allow them to proceed are especially cluttered with advertisements, each one bigger and brighter than the last. A lot of these roadside advertisements are made of are non-recyclable and non-biodegradable materials.
Many advertisements are distracting to drivers, shadowing road and traffic signs. Some are outdated but simply abandoned because of the difficulties and costs associated with taking down the advertisements. Some are removed, but are not disposed of properly. A lot of money is spent on advertisements as they generate not just additional sales and profits, but also publicity. This is an unsustainable practice. The main underlying problem lies in the fact that there is no central control over the amount and quality of advertisements in Brunei.
Possible solutions:
Individuals and companies need to be introduced to alternative methods of advertisement.
Roadside advertisements are often made of bright long-lasting plastic. These need to be replaced by advertisements constructed of other materials that are easier to dispose and broken down. Digital billboards and computerised electronic flip boards display more than one advertisement, thereby reducing the amount of waste generated when the advertising period comes to an end.
Roadside advertisements are often made of bright long-lasting plastic. These need to be replaced by advertisements constructed of other materials that are easier to dispose and broken down. Digital billboards and computerised electronic flip boards display more than one advertisement, thereby reducing the amount of waste generated when the advertising period comes to an end.
Fig.2: An abandoned and outdated advertisement & Fig.3: Improper disposable areas.
Desirable Change and Action Plans
One of the desirable changes that we wish for advertisements is to be done through internet, short messaging services, television, radio, using computerized electronic flipboards as well as digital billboards instead of on plastic, canvas and cloth which cannot be recyled.
Alternative advertising media such as television, the internet and radio create awareness effectively but leave no permanent physical waste. Authorities should enforce rules and regulations on the amount of advertisements there are, as well as the position and quality of these advertisements.
Fig.4: Digital billboard. This kind of board is like a giant television in which it can display many advertisements at the same time.
Fig.5: Flipboard. It is a computerised board in which the picture will flip simultaneously every 2 minutes. Each board can accomodate 5 different types of advertisements at one time.
Actions taken:
Project members wrote to the Town & Country Planning Department to encourage the use of the internet and other non-physical media to display or announce any advertisements. They encouraged the enforcement the existing regulations on advertisements along roadside, and asked the Department to urge the public to remove the outdated and abandoned advertisements.
In addition, project members wrote an opinion page to the press regarding their concerns about roadside advertisements and problems that the advertisements can cause to the drivers. The published letter encouraged organisations and government departments to consider their budgets carefully and spend money on more worthwhile causes than on advertisements. It brought to light other alternative methods of advertising that could be employed when advertising was essential.
