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15 Desperate Things Towns Have Done For Extra Cash

Can we interest you in buying landmarks as NFTs?

15 Desperate Things Towns Have Done For Extra Cash

December 13, 2022

We’ve all heard of creative ways to make money, but some towns have taken it a step further. From renaming themselves after big businesses and selling landmarks as NFTs, to advertising on fire trucks and police cars — these 15 unconventional moves by cash-strapped cities prove that desperate times call for innovative measures!

From Corpus Christi’s water crisis with ExxonMobil in Texas, Kimberley becoming the Bavarian town of the Rockies in Canada, or Júzcar turning blue for The Smurfs 3D movie; Cannes auctioning off its iconic landmarks as Non Fungible Tokens (NFT) or Clark changing their name from Texas to DISH — you might not believe what lengths people will go through just to get extra bucks!

We’ll also explore how American Electric Power bought out an entire town due Chicago looking into corporate sponsorships, while Halfway, Oregon changed its name temporarily… to Half.com? So buckle up, because we’re about to take a wild ride exploring fifteen bizarre things towns have done for extra cash!

15

"Google" for a month? Topeka, Kansas had an unconventional plan.

CRACKED ТОРЕКА TRIES TO CATCH GOOGLE'S EYE. Topeka, Kansas informally changed its name to Google for a month, in an effort to catch the company's attention and be chosen as a pilot city for their new high-speed internet project. Google — Real Window Creative/Shutterstock,
Sichon/Shutterstock,
Google
CNN

14

Experience Smurf life firsthand in Júzcar!

CRACKED THE SMURF VILLAGE Júzcar, a small village in Andalusia, Spain painted all its buildings blue for the promotion of The Smurfs 3D movie. The town decided to keep it that way after the promotion was over, due to an influx of tourists. — cecilia_w/Shutterstock
Reuters

13

Peterborough, Canada: Quaker Foods sponsors City… literally.

Lester Balajadia/Shutterstock,
Photo_SS/Shutterstock,
Quaker Oats Company

12

Subway station renaming: Brooklyn takes cash for Barclays branding.

CRACKED BROOKLYN SUBWAY STATION RENAMED FOR $4 MILLION. In 2009, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a deal to rename the Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Street and Flatbush Avenue subway station in Downtown Brooklyn after Barclays Bank for $4 million. Downtown & Brooklyn — Victor Moussa/Shutterstock,
Barclays Bank
The New York Times

11

Kimberley: Bavarian town of the Rockies, complete with cuckoo clocks!

CRACKED THE BAVARIAN CITY OF THE ROCKIES Kimberley, a mountain town in Canada, reinvented itself as the IX Bavarian city of the Rockies in the VI 1970s to attract tourists. It's still a Kimberley B.C. popular ski town, with some unique German quirks, like Happy Hans' cuckoo clock. — Jasperdo/Flickr
Canada.com

10

Ads on fire trucks? Crisis-proofing has gone too far.

CRACKED U.S COAST GUARD KFC (FAKE PICTURE) ADS ON EMERGENCY HELICOPTERS. Police departments and fire services across the U.S. turned to advertising on their vehicles as a way of raising funds in the post-2008 crisis. Some even considered ads for rescue helicopters. — Steven Hodel/Shutterstock, KFC
The New York Times

9

Halfway, Oregon’s citizens were shocked - but not for long - by their town’s "change" to Half.com.

CRACKED HALFWAY, OREGON BECAME HALF.COM. They did it for a year in 2000, in exchange for equipment donations (and money) from Half.com. The citizens were initially wary, but most eventually came around. WELCOME TO HALFWAY half.com HELLS CANYON COUNTRY — Baker County Tourism/Flickr,
Sichon/Shutterstock,
Halfway.com
ZDNET

8

Renaming for riches: Is your town next?

CRACKED CLARK, TEXAS CHANGED ITS NAME FOR FREE INTERNET. DISH T E X HOME OF FREE DISH NETWORK SATELLITE TV Residents agreed to rename their town DISH in exchange for free satellite equipment and basic service for a decade. This follows similar stunts, like Hot Springs becoming Truth or Consequences back in 1950. — Nicolas Henderson/Flickr
NBC News

7

Corpus Christi: Water crisis imminent after contract with big business.

GRACKED CORPUS CHRISTI: WATERING THE CITY WITH OIL MONEY? Corpus Christi, Texas has signed over a large portion of its water supply to ExxonMobil and Steel Dynamics for industrial use. The city is now in desperate need of fresh water as it races against the clock to complete desalination plans. — Trong Nguyen/Shutterstock
Ars Technica

6

Duisburg halts "China City" dream over Huawei-Russia ties.

CRACKED CHINA CITY REGRETS ITS DEAL WITH HUAWEI. Duisburg, Germany's self-styled China City has halted its collaboration with Chinese tech giant Huawei, due to Beijing's ties with Russia and the US government blacklisting of Huawei over fears of spying. — dreakrawi/Shutterstock,
Sichon/Shutterstock,
Huawei
Yahoo Finance

5

Chicago looks to corporate sponsors for extra cash: Name a Station, Anyone?

CRACKED Midway 2680 cta CHICAGO LOOKS TO CORPORATE SPONSORS FOR EXTRA CASH: NAME A STATION, ANYONE? The Chicago Transit Authority went out for bids to sell naming rights of its assets, including rail lines and stations, bus routes, and special events. — Kate Scott/Shutterstock
Chicago Tribune

4

Cash-strapped towns: Police cars as billboards?

CRACKED ADS ON COP CARS. In the early '00s, towns across the U.S. considered a deal to replace aging police fleets with cars emblazoned with advertisements, raising questions about conflict of interest and commercialization. hip with nunity DUNKIN' CITY OF IRVIN DD POLICE DONUTS (FAKE PICTURE) — K O Moore/Shutterstock,
Dunkin Donuts
The Christian Science Monitor

3

Town gone bust: Cheshire bought out by AEP smog.

CRACKED YOU BREAK IT, YOU BUY IT. CHESHIRE AMERICAN ED ELECTRIC KED CORPORATION LIMIT POWER AR In 2002, American Electric Power bought out the entire town of Cheshire, Ohio due to air pollution problems caused by its smokestacks and blue plume clouds containing sulphuric acid that blanketed the area. — Analogue Kid/Wiki Commons,
Sichon/Shutterstock,
AEP
BBC

2

Cannes auctions off landmarks, earns €330k.

CRACKED CANNES SOLD ITS SOUL (AS AN NFT). 70 I CANNES Cannes has sold some of its iconic landmarks as NFTs, bringing in €330,000 from the auction. 10 lots were available to buyers, including the Croisette and Palais des Festivals which went for €65,000 and €59,040 respectively. — Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock
Euronews

1

Domino’s “Paving for Pizza” campaign

CRACKED DOMINO'S PAVING FOR PIZZA CAMPAIGN. (REAL PICTURE) - OH YES WE DID U.S. cities have spent hours of unpaid time helping the company advertise, in exchange for $5,000 grants to repair potholes (and pizza parties). The exposure gained by Domino's was worth much more than the money they spent on repairs. — City of Milford
Vice

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