• New York Times, Monday, June 25, 2012 3:16 PM

From selling ad space on rescue helicopters to fire trucks to subway turnstiles, "dozens of... financially struggling cities, transit systems and school districts around the country... are trying to weather the economic downturn by selling advertisements, naming rights and sponsorships to raise money," writes Michael Cooper.

Such deals can also help marketers "try to reach consumers who have grown more adept at tuning out commercials, whether with remote controls or digital video recorders," according to Cooper.

Of course there's still opposition to such creeping commercialization. As John Balloni, a chief in the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office  in Syracuse,N.Y., says in the post, "Some people are a little put off by the idea that we’re getting sponsorship for what used to be a government duty, if you will.”

Read the whole story at New York Times »