A Sign of the Times

Do this

Don't do that

Can't you read the signs?

--Signs, Five Man Electrical Band (1970)

A few days ago my daughter Stephanie, who lives in San Francisco, called. "Have you seen that huge new billboard about China? It's hard to miss as you get on the Bay Bridge." I had no idea what Steph was talking about.

A quick Google search filled me in. On March 26, 2012, the Alliance for American Manufacturing launched a nationwide effort to keep taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects truly Made in the USA. Kudos to AAM for coming up with a brilliant, spot-on campaign.

From the organization's press release:

A national Should Be Made in America campaign by the non-profit, non-partisan Alliance for America Manufacturing (AAM) kicks off today at the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, a massive construction project that was outsourced to China at the cost of thousands of American manufacturing jobs.

The Should Be Made in America campaign will feature outdoor and digital advertising as well as online activism to urge the use of American-made components for infrastructure projects financed with U.S. tax dollars. The campaign launches with two large billboards stationed near the Bay Bridge that feature the flag of the People's Republic of China inscribed with “The Bay Bridge/100% Foreign Steel. ShouldBeMadeInAmerica.com”

Kudos to AAM for a brilliant billboard campaign (and thanks, as well, for sending over the photo). I know we've discussed the Bay Bridge fiasco several times, but for those interested in further reading about yet another tragic outsourcing tale, check out this investigative piece by the American University School of Communication. And this, from The New York Times.