hat do Sao Paulo and New Delhi have in common (apart from being metropolises in two very populous countries)? A ban on outdoor hoardings.

The Brazilian government greeted Sao Paulo with a New Year gift of a blanket ban on the 13,000 odd billboards that it houses, in an attempt to check what it termed "visual pollution." The order, which caused a furore among the city's advertisers, includes a ban on all forms of outdoor advertising like neon signs and electronic panels. By comparison, the ban on hoardings in New Delhi seems less harsh. Or perhaps, the years have softened the blow that the Supreme Court dealt to the industry in 1997. ... more