California is strapped for cash. The state is billions of dollars in debt, with a reeling economy and no real way of digging itself out of the hole it has created short of a miracle or continued borrowing from the federal government. That’s why a California assembly member named Curren Price, a Democrat from Inglewood, has come up with a plan: advertising on license plates. It sounds crazy, but it just might work.
The technology comes from a San Francisco start-up company, Smart Plate. When the car’s in motion, the license looks like a license. When the car stops for longer than a few seconds, the license becomes a digital advertisement. They can also display traffic warnings, Amber Alerts, and other pertinent information not related to making money for the state by pushing products. The license plate’s number would be banished to a corner of the plate during ad times, so as not to interfere with law enforcement.
How would this work with vanity plates, or those plates that people pay extra for to promote breast cancer research or rep their favorite sports team? Would those still be possible, or would that simply change what ads are shown on the plates? Aside from those issues, it seems like a good idea.
Tags: ads, unusual ads, ads on license plates, ads on cars, California, money-raising ideas, fundraisers, ads on licenses, unusual ad ideas, digital license plates, electronic license plates that change to ads when stopped, Smart Place, Curren Price