Dateline: Black Friday, November 26, 2021, Santa Monica, Calif. at Santa Monica South (SMS) Tower 26.
The sheer size of this god awful advertisement for ATHLETIC GREENS speaks for itself AND it is so large that the tide board is completely separate. So now the lifeguards have to man-handle the GINORMOUS advertisement from inside the tower each day and lift it and place it on the railings on BOTH sides of the tower. And at the end of their shift, this MONSTROSITY has to be taken down and placed back inside the tower, along with the cones, the signs, the flags, etc. Who approved this ABSURDITY?! Gone are the days when the tide board sponsor would get subtle name recognition. Now the lifeguards, who are supposed to be watching the water, have to tend to two large metal (or possibly very stiff molded plastic) poster board advertisements. The ENORMITY of this advertisement is SHOCKING! It is the largest thing on the tower. It is even bigger than the Ordinance signboard on the back of the tower, which actually has a public service purpose.
This is a HUGE FAIL! And it besmirches the reputation of Lifeguard Division (LACoFD Lifeguard Division), and its staff, whose primary mission is public health and safety.
Below is an example of a tide board, circa 1990's, that features the sponsorship at the bottom of the board and does not take away from the public safety messaging that is the purpose of the tide board.
Hopefully, both the County and the Sponsor will realize that this blatant and crass commercial messaging is not in the best interest of the public and the sponsor. As it is, ATHLETIC GREENS can expect very negative feedback from the public and the consumer, IMHO.
This is so very disappointing, particularly as it negatively impacts the public safety mission of the Lifegard Dept.
Respectfully submitted,
Will Maguire, Editor, "County Recurrent" News (All photos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2021. All Rights Reserved. The views shared herein are the opinions of the author individually and personally as protected under the U.S. Constitution). ***************************************************************************************************
