Los Angeles (like many cities around the US) has banned the use of plastic bags in grocery store check out lines and added a tax for use of paper bags in attempt to get people to move towards reusable bags which are better for the environment. The stores were excited because this cut down on their costs – no more buying bags that they end up giving away for free. It’s even opened up a new revenue stream for many of these stores as they are now selling their own reusable bags for their customers to proudly carry around, and of course no marketing opportunity should go unseized so these bags all have the store’s logos huge on either side. One thing the stores didn’t taken into account was that people don’t shop at just one store, and a reusable bag can be reused at any store. The result of this is the hilarious grimacing on grocery store management faces when their customers are walking around in the store with giant advertisements for all their competitors, and filling their cars with mobile marketing for someone else. Obviously there’s no way for stores to back out from this path and it’s not likely they can ban bags advertising the competition, so until some solution is found it’s alls fair in love and brand warfare in the grocery isle.