Is it advertising or is it graffiti?

caffeinegoddess's picture
Posted by caffeinegoddess on 23. November 2004 - 21:03

Reuters reports: In the neat-nick city of Singapore a controversy over Nike ads is brewing. Apparently about 50 people compained that the bus stops suffered "acts of vandalism" or "graffiti". Little did they realize that the graffiti was posters put there on purpose.
The ads, featuring U.S. basketball star LeBron James, were posted over other ads- causing folks to think they were indeed graffiti.

Graffiti is a sensitive subject in the wealthy island known for obsessive civic orderliness. Its authorities famously caned American teenager Michael Fay in 1994 on charges of spray-paint vandalism in a case that shocked the West.

"We had a good laugh when we received this feedback," Henry Goh, a sales director at outdoor bus advertising firm Clear Channel, told the Straits Times newspaper.

* note - the image is from the kung fu master LeBron ad which was banned in China.

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Submitted by rooster on 24. November 2004 - 15:12.
rooster's picture

Not only Singapore, but even Oslo is discussing graffiti in marketing:

all part of guerilla activities around www.501anti-fit.no

Submitted by dabitch on 29. November 2004 - 22:00.
dabitch's picture

Oh yeah, have a loook here at Researcher.se he's found an image of the Singaporian Nike graffitti ads and it looks a right mess.
from here:

While some officials and adults took offense at the simulated graffiti, the campaign seemed to touch a chord with young people, many of whom rushed to grab the posters off the bus shelters as souvenirs. "It's super cool," 14-year-old Gilchrist Goh told The Straits Times newspaper.

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