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ZAP Games

Zap Wrap! The winners of ZAP Games 2023

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the ZAP Games 2023. ZAP is french for Zone Anti-Publicité / Anti-Advertising Zone. It is two weeks of affinity groups actions against Black Friday consumerism and the advertising industry. Outside of Belgium, where the orignal ZAP Games were created in 2020, there were…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalDecember 3, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Make Amazon Pay, London (ZAP Games 2023)

The Make Amazon Pay coalition of trade unionists and groups had over 150 protests and strikes happening in 35 countries on 24 November 2023 regarding how Amazon treats its workforce, the environment and dodges tax. Artist: Tona Merriman Action Category: Big “Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 29, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

La pub vous fait dé-penser, Paris (ZAP Games 2023)

Submission from Résistance à l'Agression Publicitaire (RAP) Paris: "Au lendemain du Black Friday nos activistes nettoyent et se réapproprient des espaces publicitaires à Paris. C'était aussi l'occasion de fêter les 20 ans du mouvement Stop pub de 2003 et de contribuer à la mobilisation internationale #ZapGames"
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 29, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Shut it down: ZAP Games reaches San Francisco

Subvertisers in San Francisco have joined the ZAP Games with a fantastic contribution called Shut It Down. Posters near a shopping mall invoke the origins of Thanksgiving, anti-consumerism and the Palestinian struggle for equality. 
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 29, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

On the tube: Capitalism-Adverts-Exploit-Poverty, London (ZAP Games 2023)

Group: London Fossil Free PrideAction Category: SurpriseThis week we reclaimed a small part of public space back from the private, profit-driven sphere! This was part of the ZAP Games by the Subvertisers International network of groups.Our first time so a little rushed and messy 😛 but we took over a…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 28, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Boycott Ad-Hacks Hit Report, Cambridge (ZAP Games 2023)

Ad hacks by Cambridge group This is not a Drill include boycott-themed bus stop ad takeovers, energy efficiency stickers (by artist Darren Cullen) on digital ad screens, and a good old fashioned "Boycott Black Friday" stencil. Action categories: Digital screens, Political détournement
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 28, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Anti Amazon Adhacks @Amazon HQ, London (ZAP Games 2023)

Activists in London repurposed adverts near Amazon HQ in London to highlight the company's controversial supplying of cloud technology to Israeli military. The hacks call for "mutual aid, not genocide". Action categories: Political détournement.
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 27, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Wanted! Shell’s CEO. Meaning Transformation Guild (ZAP Games 2023)

From the Meaning Transformation Guild in the UK: bus stop ad takeovers with a wanted message for Shell's CEO, Wael Sawan, for "crimes against life". Reward: "a liveable future". Action categories: Political détournement
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 27, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Delicious burgers (don’t think), Jonny Kemp, London (ZAP Games 2023)

London, Borough Market. By artist Jonny Kemp (@Jonny_kemp_art): "I've taken a screenshot of an article written by a former Israeli soldier, where he explains the futility of violence in solving the conflict. I was struck by the huge contrast and the McDonald's advert, which seems to be there only to…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 27, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

One big ZAP, London (ZAP Games 2023)

"We’ll improve. We’ll choose the planet. We’ll save you. ZAP."These three billboards don’t have legal planning permission to be there. So we’ve reclaimed the space for #ZAPGAMES2023 Group: Adblock HackneyAction Categories: Big (nominated 2023 Winner of this category)
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 27, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

How are you today? Ad cover up, Bristol (ZAP Games 2023)

In southwest UK, Adblock Bristol covered up adverts on a busy street with paper reading "I love..." and "How are you today?". The group left pens by the side of the paper, and left south Bristol's community in charge of messaging in their public space for a day... Action categories:…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 27, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Pourquoi cette pub est sexiste? Nancy, France (ZAP Games 2023)

In Nancy, France, long-running counter-advertising network Résistance à l'Agression Publicitaire (RAP) covered sexist advertisements across the city with drawings of vulvas, posters listing how ads are sexist, and feminist manifestos. The ZAP action by RAP Nancy aligned with marches in the city to mark the International Day for the Elimination…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 27, 2023 Read More
XR Lambeth out in action for ZAP Games 2023
ZAP Games

XR Lambeth’s subvertising potpourri, London (ZAP Games 2023)

XR Lambeth decided to go with the flow and be inspired in situ and celebrate the DIY accessible approach (nothing to do with being last minute!), which led to a beautiful cacophony of "art" pieces! We focused on bus stops in South London, our playground and repurposed around 30 bus…
XR LambethXR LambethNovember 26, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Buy nothing, steal everything (ZAP Games 2023)

Group: Make love, not ads Repurposing ads in East London to send messages to the world calling on folk to challenge the current consumerist status quo Action categories: Most Beautiful, Greatest Number of Panels
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 25, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Madonna (cacchette) ad takeovers, Pisa (ZAP Games 2023)

Artist: Illustrate Feccia "We subverted 3 bus stops adverts in Pisa, with some blasphemies." Action categories: Most Beautiful, Political Détournement
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 25, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Buy Nothing, Hamburg (ZAP Games 2023)

Buy nothing! Ads removed and replaced in Hamburg, Germany. Action categories: Greatest number of panels
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Adverts heat up the planet: tube ad hack (ZAP Games 2023)

Tube passengers in London face a barrage of ads from contact lenses to anti-tiredness meds to getaway breaks in St Lucia. Sit on the Elizabeth Line, which conveys business folk into Canary Wharf and you'll get ads for elite credit cards, business class flights, and Asset Managers telling you they're…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Niger Delta Hell Bus, Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives

Artist Darren Cullen, Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives, entered the ZAP Games 2023 Sculpture category with a submission from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. In Darren's words, he "bought an old mini-bus and converted it into a fake Shell corporate vehicle with subvertised ads either side and a 'Hell' sign on the roof. Banners…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Tear it all down, London (ZAP Games 2023)

Activist group Make Love Not Ads replaced tens of ads in East London with colourful letters spelling out "Tear it all down". "Taking as many ads down as possible to send one message: Tear down these tools of manipulation." Action categories: Most Beautiful, Surprise, Greatest Number of Panels
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

We’re Not Buying It, Reading (ZAP Games 2023)

A punchy mass cover up of digital ad screens in Reading with blackout fabric has effectively put the screens out of action for a day. The crew covered the standalone screens with fabric showing alternative messages, some which encouraged passers by to write and draw, in place of multiple ads…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

May your olive trees flourish, Frank Riot (ZAP Games 2023)

Artist name: Frank Riot  In this ad hack outside the the US Embassy in London, an artwork by Frank Riot replaces a bus stop advert, with the words: "May your olive trees flourish under the sun of a free Palestine". In the artist's words, "envisioning the world Palestinians deserve, and…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Zines not ad screens: Ad space reclaimed in London (ZAP Games 2023)

"Today, we've reclaimed a bus stop in the heart of London and replaced its advert billboard with a community notice board and swap shop shelf, filled with clothes, books and wildflower seeds, all surrounded by a beautiful wall of zine covers from our community workshop. "The goal was to reimagine…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Make Love Not Ads, Leeds (ZAP Games 2023)

Make Love Not Ads!! In Leeds, artists covered bus stop ad panels with sheets of paper speaking a strong message: let's build love, connection and care in our communities, and get rid of advertising that promotes consumerism and atomised societies. With a second message, Less Ads, More Buses the ad…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Black Friday isn’t an event, it’s a state of mind – and retail therapy isn’t working

By John Sheerman As Black Friday approaches, the frenzy builds, email reminders appear in our inbox counting down to the most lucrative period in the commercial calendar, from airlines to white goods, we are promised bargains galore, for a limited time only (T’s & C’s apply). From billboards to TV…
Ban Fossil AdsBan Fossil AdsNovember 24, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Stop SUV Ads: protesting Toyota’s ad agency (ZAP Games 2023)

Adfree Cities, Adblock Lambeth, Badvertising and XR Families staged a protest at the doors of advertising agency The&Partnership, who make ads for one of the the world's top polluters, Toyota. Activists handed flyers to The&Partnership staff while others wearing animal masks and covered with tyre tracks lay motionless on the…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 23, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Whose streets? Ad paint-over, Bristol (ZAP Games 2023)

In Bristol, a crew painted over tens of big brand adverts in the cultural quarter of Stokes Croft, replacing commercial messages with images of trees, cut out lettering spelling ZAP (Zone Anti-Pub) and "Cease Fire Now". Passers-by stopped to ask why the crew were painting over adverts and commissioned messages…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 23, 2023 Read More
A Billboard poster reads "don't fall for black Friday. you don't need that shit"
Big

“Don’t fall for Black Friday…” Bristol (ZAP Games)

....you don't need that shit. XR Bristol take over three billboards in the city with their own message against Black Friday. Action Category: Big Group: XR Bristol
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 22, 2023 Read More
A person with their back to the camera puts a poster on a digital ad screen. the poster reads "ZAP Games"
ZAP Games

Zapped Screens, London (ZAP Games 2023)

Action Category: Digital Screens The ZAP Games are two weeks of affinity group actions against the outdoor advertising industry in the run up to Black Friday on 24th November 2023. ZAP is french for Zone Anti-Publicité / Anti-Ad Zone. More info here.
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 21, 2023 Read More
ZAP Games

Imagine (ZAP Games 2023)

"Those who lack imagination can't imagine what is lacking." Imagine a world run by those with imagination, with a conscience. Where enough was enough, and there was enough for all. Where there was a future for our children. Where we could be proud to be their ancestors.  Action Category: Most BeautifulGroup name:…
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 20, 2023 Read More
A bus stop poster replaced with a hand made posters with the words "didn't read the warnings?"
ZAP Games

World of Change (ZAP Games 2023)

Spotted in Reading, England. 'Adaptation to inspire change' - subvertising by the Reading BS Appreciation Society. Action Category: Political Détournement Dying of consumption.
Subvertisers InternationalSubvertisers InternationalNovember 20, 2023 Read More