Banner drop
Encyclopedia
Banner
A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...
in place as a protest tactic. The banner usually targets a specific corporation, law, political campaign, etc. The banner may itself be dropped on an activists' target, or in conjunction with the beginning of a campaign. For an example of all three, the November 20, 1999 banner drop at an Old Navy store in downtown Seattle publicized the company's use of sweatshop
Sweatshop
Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
labor and was one of many protest activities carried out during the beginning of the Seattle WTO protests
WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity
Protest activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations, occurred on November 30, 1999 , when the World Trade Organization convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington,...
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Performing a banner drop may constitute criminal vandalism
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
and criminal trespassing depending on where the banner is placed and on the legal jurisdiction in which the activity occurred.
There are several ways in which banners are constructed and placed. Most often, a banner is decorated with an activist slogan or picture using paint, dye or, in some cases, screen printing. The banner is then often either tied to the target or secured to it using ropes and weights.