Advertising column

A Morris column in front of the Palais Brongniart

Classic Litfaßsäule in Germany, celebrating their 150th anniversary in 2005.

Advertising columns or morris columns (French: Colonne Morris, German: Litfaßsäule) are cylindrical outdoor sidewalk structures with a characteristic style that are used for advertising and other purposes. They are common in the city of Berlin, Germany, where the first 100 columns were installed in 1855. Advertising columns were invented by the German printer Ernst Litfaß in 1854. Therefore it is known as Litfaßsäule (Litfaß column) in Germany, and can be found all over the country there.

In France originally built by La Société Fermière des Colonnes Morris, from which they derive their name, they are mostly built and maintained today by the JCDecaux company, which purchased Morris in 1986.

Development

The idea of advertising pillars came about in order to combat rampant advertising and graffiti. Ernst Litfaß suggested that pillars should be built all over the city. People could then place their advertisements on these pillars. On December 5, 1854, after years of proceedings, the Berlin's chief of police, Karl Ludwig von Hinkeldey authorized Litfaß' „Annoncier-Säulen“. He had exclusive rights to the building of these columns until 1865.

Purposes

Advertising columns are most typically used to display advertisements in the form of posters; many such advertisements have traditionally concerned theater, cinema, nightclub, and concert announcements. Some are motorized and rotate very slowly. A few Advertising columns house Sanisettes or telephone booths. At the beginning of 2006, there were 790 Morris columns in Paris, of which 18 contained telephones and six contained Sanisettes. Some 233 Advertising columns are scheduled to be removed in the near future.

Cultural references

• In the movie The Third Man, Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles) uses one of these columns as an escape route to the sewer system under Vienna.

• In the movie Gremlins 2, Billy Peltzer (played by Zach Galligan) and Daniel Clamp (played by John Glover), use one of these columns as an escape route from the Gremlin infested Clamp Building.

• In the movie Men in Black II, Agent K (played by Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (played by Will Smith), use a column as an escape route from an alien infested MiB Headquarters.

References

• Mobilier Urbain – Inventory of street installations in Paris (in French)
• 20 Minutes – “Les colonnes Morris en voie de disparition”, 20 Minutes (Paris), 6 January 2006, Grand Paris p. 4 (in French)
• JC Decaux – Current manufacturer of Morris columns

See also

• Ernst Litfaß