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A college junior from Shanghai has recently gone viral after using a “universal key” to shut down more than 100 elevator advertising screens — a protest against intrusive and noisy commercials in residential buildings.
The student, known only by his surname Kong, spent five days visiting various apartment complexes across the city, unlocking elevator control panels and turning off the ad displays. He recorded the entire process and posted the video online, where it quickly attracted thousands of views before being shadow-banned on multiple platforms. Kong later reuploaded it with a statement: “Ads that rely on brainwashing shouldn’t be called good advertising.”
Kong explained that his protest was actually part of a college project for his New Media Marketing course, which required students to create a unique viral video.
“This was performance art,” he said. “The beauty of performance art lies in resonance, not destruction.” His intention was to raise awareness about the growing noise pollution caused by constant elevator ads.
The screens Kong targeted belonged to Focus Media, one of China’s largest elevator advertising companies. The firm claims to reach more than 400 million people daily through over 3 million display screens, describing its ads as “high-attention” and “low-interference” — a claim Kong’s action directly challenged.
Before carrying out his protest, Kong conducted interviews across more than ten residential communities inShanghai’s Jiading District. Many residents told him that the ad screens were installed without their consent.
Younger tenants largely supported his idea, calling the ads annoying and intrusive, while many older residents preferred to avoid conflict, saying it was “better not to cause trouble.”
Kong observed that neighborhoods with louder ads often had lower housing prices and less control over property management.
He also criticized the content of many advertisements, describing them as “vulgar and offensive.” Some displayed sexualized imagery or provocative questions like “Are you single”, while others promoted quick loans.
“These ads objectify women and demean single or low-income people,” he argued, adding that they distort public values.
When reporters later interviewed residents from other parts of Shanghai, opinions were divided. One mother said the constant elevator noise was “quite disturbing”, while another woman said she wouldn’t mind the ads if they offered “more diverse and meaningful content”.
Online, Kong’s act sparked a wave of debate and support. One commenter wrote, “Finally, someone did what I’ve always wanted to do!” while others urged a boycott of brands using elevator ads. However, some questioned whether his methods were legal.
Lawyer Yu Zhentao from Zhejiang Zhiren Law Firm noted that using a universal key to access property systems without permission could violate ownership rights, calling it a “civil tort” that might lead to compensation claims. Since elevators and their ad screens are typically managed by property companies, tampering with them could be seen as unauthorized interference.
Yu added that residents unhappy with such ads should use legal channels — such as raising the issue through homeowners’ committees or filing formal complaints with regulators.
“Residents are the true owners of their communities,” he said. “When they speak, property managers are obliged to listen.”
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*The opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.*
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