100 London advertising sites hacked to protest mass consumerism
- Text by Ella Glossop
- Photography by Brandalism
Tax wealth — Created by anonymous artist network Brandalism, the action comes ahead of Black Friday, when UK shoppers are expected to spend £6.5 billion as brands run discounted sales of their products.
Activists have hacked 100 advertising sites across London in a coordinated protest against the tax avoidance of big tech companies like Amazon, and the “destructive hyper-consumerism” of Black Friday.
Satirical artworks pasted over billboards and Tube ads by the anonymous artist network Brandalism accuse companies of dodging taxes, exploiting workers and fuelling environmental collapse. Ethical Consumer estimates Amazon’s corporation tax avoidance may have cost the UK around £575 million in 2024.
The interventions mark the launch of the ZAP Games – Zone Anti-Publicité – a two-week Europe-wide campaign that repurposes commercial ad spaces. Posters inside Tube carriages compare tech CEOs to parasites, while others criticise the carbon and water intensity of Amazon’s AI-driven data centres.
Brandalism argues Amazon’s advertising dominance shields its practices from scrutiny. “Amazon epitomises 21st century destructive hyper-consumerism,” said spokesperson Tona Merriman. “It bombards us with advertising in the run up to Black Friday whilst squeezing the pay and conditions of workers, amassing eye-watering profits and then dodging its taxes.”
More than 100 artworks have appeared across the capital. One by artist Michelle Tylicki shows a Monopoly board filled with social goods overshadowed by an encroaching Amazon logo. Another juxtaposes an Amazon data centre with a burning rainforest to highlight ecological damage.
Activists say injury rates in Amazon warehouses spike during Black Friday demand. This year, mass strikes and walk-outs are planned globally by Make Amazon Pay, a coalition backed by more than 400 parliamentarians. Amazon paid UK corporation tax in 2024 for the first time since 2020, but campaigners argue it still avoids far more than it contributes.
Human rights criticisms are also intensifying. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused Amazon, along with Microsoft and Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company), of aiding Israel’s genocide against Palestinians through its cloud services. Israeli military officials have credited Amazon software with enhancing their ability to track and kill targets. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
This is not the only fallout surrounding Black Friday this year. Last week, Zara workers across Europe announced they would stage protests in Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal. Unions are demanding that parent company Inditex reinstate a profit-sharing scheme scrapped after the pandemic.
Rosa Galan of Spain’s CCOO union said Inditex’s growing profits were “the result of the work of its staff,” calling for a fairer distribution. Inditex, whose share price has doubled over the past three years, did not respond to requests for comment.
Ella Glossop is Huck’s social editor. Follow her on Bluesky.
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