Our Crowdtilt-funded ad campaign for #NetNeutrality is live across DC!

Check it out and tweet @alexisohanian if you get a photo of one in the wild!

And if you'd like to print your own, here you go (creative commons, ftw!)

Fun fact: This campaign is running at 30 locations that generate 2.7M weekly impressions (and we're running for 2 weeks so that's 5.4M impressions total!).

The benefit of having a digital ad is that we can change the messaging almost instantly -- depending on the FCC announcement on Thurs, we can adjust our messaging ASAP and feature a new ad in that spot because it's digital, making us more nimble and newsworthy. That would be impossible with traditional printed advertising. 

Bonus fact: The average 18+ adult walks an average of 18 blocks in the city each week, so they are more heavily exposed to this type of advertising. There aren't a lot of billboards in DC proper, and this was the more effective way of reaching government workers and the FCC and it looks pretty damn cool, too.

The Verge broke the story.

Thanks to all of you who helped make this campaign a success!

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3 responses
"Children, do you know about 'Net Neutrality'?"
— My Friend Craig
Dear My Friend, My name is Mickey Johnston, just some kid from Nashville that graduated from the university of Tennessee a few weeks ago. I come to you with a proposal for the new epoch. One that would continue on the idea of net neutrality; all while honoring your lost friend that passed not long ago. Upon graduating one of my entrepreneurship teachers asked us to write a paper reflecting on our experience at UT, which just so happens to be one of the very few campuses that Mr. Ohanaian happened to miss during his epic expedition across the states (no hard feelings). So, Hoffman asked us what he would like to see changed within the institution. As an aspiring entrepreneur, wantrepreneur or whatever the fuck you’d like to call it, I decided to try and come up with a solution to one of the problems I’d be facing in the coming weeks, and one that you brought up on Mr. Joe Rogan’s podcast. A lack of access to research papers, and databases that are currently only available to ignorant students that don’t use even 3% of the informational capacity. The solution goes something like this; databases and researchers will have a platform, similar to reddit, which connects users seeking information and the researchers publishing that information, and database access depending on the institution you rent from. Which would link the amazing intellectuals from MIT to UVA to the genius children of Bangladesh and Kenya. Please apologize because I have forgotten the gentleman’s name that you told us, and Joe, about a few months ago; but I do believe that he was onto something with that power move. It is very unfortunate that our social pressures forced him to such places. But, this is all the more reason that this sort of thing must happen. I’ve been reading a few books as of lately, yours being one of them, and the one that I’m working on now, also the one that pushed me to send this e-mail, “Where Good Ideas Come From,” By Steven Johnson. Who says that every innovative idea comes from the places where there is an equal balance of chaos and order. I believe that the Web is the perfect place for that where all bits are created equal, and it does not matter who you are or how old that individual is. So, why is it that we all do not have free access to these incredible databases? Or these amazing research papers that tell the truth as to what we really want to know? Information should flow like the Amazon during monsoon season. This is the only way to truly innovate, when people put boundaries, constraints, and litigation as road blocks to innovating nobody wants to play the game. Johnson again makes a perfect example in his book talking about how 9/11 could have been prevented had the FBI not been so douchey with their policy… big shocker there. No one enjoys politics, unless you’re a foolish politician who knows no better. I digress; knowledge is the most powerful thing the world has ever known. According to some Taoist beliefs, which I am starting to see is one of the many ways, we all know everything there is to know, but we must activate those synapses to truly understand what it is that we know. Which we can then tie back to Johnson who says having a common-place notebook is one of the most beneficial things one can do for mental exercise. It allows you to have catalog of everything that you know, already organized and ready to go. But guess what Mr. Ohanian, the Web is that and so much more. A worldwide catalog is what Bernards-Lee envisioned when he first started the intrawebs. So, all the information should be equal, including research papers and databases. This would continue on the idea of net neutrality; which I hope you are ready to defend in the coming months, all while honoring those that have been lost in the battle. Stick with me, free information, at least from academics, is going to be a hard pitch. So let’s soften the punch. This is where having read many books comes in handy. If one takes Business Model Generation (by Alexander and Yves), and then combines it with your mentorship from Without Their Permission one could have a very innovative perspective as to how to publish information. Researchers, and databases, would split a royalty between the institution that would be paid for by the user for a nominal fee for one, to a few, hours of access to the information. Thus, researchers would be encouraged to push the boundaries, and further our, the human, knowledge (and science!), all while being compensated for their hardwork and consumers would be paying 10-30 dollars an hour to access this information. Lets us the ante one more time. Offer a premium service that connects members that are close to one another, and with similar interests (similar to subreddits), also allow them discounts on the services offered. Imagine paying $10 for up to 3 hours of access to information that only Harvard is publishing. This could then be turned into almost like free advertising for databases and institutions, which could be a pro for them, because users would brag about how great their user interface is (make them fans, right?). I’m sure by now you are starting to realize that I really enjoyed Without Their Permission and plan to put many of its principles to use in the not so distant future. My apologies for not being able to write a short letter, for I only had enough time to write a long one. Thank you my friend for your words of inspiration, Now, lets make the world suck less. Mickey Johnston Meant for this to be an email but I couldn't find yours anywhere. Good thing your blog can have posts of 1,000+ characters haha
— Mickey Johnston
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