Welcome to Coca-Cola Town, U.S.A.: America’s Scary Corporate Naming Problem
http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/welcome-coca-cola-town-usa-americas-scary-corporate-naming
For the past 20 years, Ive been taking the train to the Market East Station in my hometown of Philadelphia. But Im not going to be doing that again anytime soon.
Thats because Market East no longer exists, at least not officially. It became Jefferson Station earlier this month, after Thomas Jefferson University Hospital paid Philadelphias regional transportation authority $4 million to put Jeffersons name on the station for the next five years.
And this isnt just a Philly thing, either. Around the country, the names of our public spaces are being sold off to private donors. Brooklyns busy Atlantic Avenue subway station is now the Barclays Bank station; Chicago is selling naming rights to its L stops; and Cleveland recently named an entire bus route The Health Line, after receiving $6.25 million from the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.
In several other cities, meanwhile, Kentucky Fried Chickens logo festoons manhole covers and fire hydrants. A few municipalities have sold ads on their police cars. And seven states now allow pizza chains and other companies to advertise on school buses.
Thats good news for business, which can engage old customers and target new ones. And its good for our cash-strapped local and state governments, which can make long-needed improvements to crumbling infrastructures. Everyone walks away happy. Right?