When a school district in Minnesota decided to turn lockers into ad inventory, it didn't skimp on the creative palette. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis reports that some area schools are giving lockers over to an outfit called School Media. Now, students will put their lunches in lockers covered with a garish pink decal advertising the aquarium at the Mall of America. Naturally, the move is a way for a cash-strapped school district to make up for budget cuts. One district expects to rake in $200,000 from the ads. One superintendent gets points for honesty, saying: "I hate to say it's all about the money, but it probably is." This has lots of people up in arms, as you might guess. It is strange to think of schools as ad vehicles—we're in trouble when libraries go this route—but once the kids leave the school grounds, they're bombarded with ads wherever they turn anyway. It could even be a useful teaching tool for them to learn that marketers won't leave them alone for the rest of their lives. Photo: Star Tribune.