A bold social media campaign has kicked off in a bid to keep Australia Capital Territory public space ad free.

The campaign which features two 'naked' women standing behind white placards have been making their rounds since Friday thanks to Ad Free Canberra, a community Facebook page that was responsible in drawing attention to the cause.

Social researchers Lisa Petheram, and Deborah Cleland can be seen standing out and about in several public places in Canberra holding white placards and voicing their agreement on having the 1930s billboard ban intact.

Social research Ms Petheram was happy to be apart of the campaign to ban billboard ads

With more than 215 people liking the page, the group was also responsible for asking Canberrians to send in written submissions to maintain the state's billboard ban after ACT chief minister Andrew Barr signaled the possible relaxation of the regulations in January.

The page was set up Green Institute executive director Tim Hallo who is also one of the administrators of the Ad Free Canberra page told the Canberra Times there was no actual nudity in the campaign just carefully crafted photos with a clear message.

'Canberra's mostly ad-free state, as part of its natural beauty, is one of the city's most precious features.

'It should be cherished and protected, not whittled away.

'Encroachments of advertising into public space should be pushed back with stricter enforcement, not used as an excuse to rewind regulation.

Mr Hallo told Daily Mail Australia there was hardly any real remuneration derived from outdoor media campaigns with the state government estimated to earn a close $500,000 from selling public space.

Going all out for a cause, Canberrians would do anything to keep their public space ad free

Describing the remunerations as very little, Mr Hallo opined that the state government could resort to other things to get money instead.

He also said billboard ads are known to cause a person depression and anxiety with some campaign known to force a person to buy something they don't need.

The message is loud and clear, NO to billboards ads in Canberra please says Ms Petheram

Submissions to the billboard inquiry closed on Tuesday.

All six of the submissions published online had opposed to the deregulation of outdoor advertising.

However, Mr Hallo said there were more submission including his that hasn't been posted online yet.

Ad Free Canberra started a social media campaign to get more people involved with the cause

Ms Petheram who has lived in Canberra for six year says the campaign did not involve nudity

'I believe there are more than six submission.

'Its probably not all been posted on the page yet,'he said.

Even Ms Petheram had a written submission on the matter as she was extremely concerned with growing mental health that billboards would have on the masses.

She also told Daily Mail Australia that she and her friend Ms Cleland was not actually naked for the campaign but were wearing strapless blouses and skirts instead.

Ms Cleland seen here with a billboard opposing the states plan to allow more ads in the open

'We are asking that submissions to the inquiry be re-opened and there be more engagement of the Canberra community on this issue because not many people knew about it until recently,' Ms Petheram said.

'We also would like to see that the Ngunnawal people be fully informed and consulted about the issue of billboards and given time to lodge submissions.

'We also think existing legislation on large-scale advertising should be amended, strengthened and enforced, including bus stop and 'wrap' advertising and advertising on buildings, fences and trailers.'



