Philadelphia, famous for it’s murals, has had some new additions to the walls – hand painted illegal ads for Colt 45. The people of Philadelphia have already managed to get Colt 45 Malt Liquor ads off their city buses due to community concerns. Yesterday they beat the murals.
Some more than 4 word long excerpts from the AP story:
A nonprofit anti-billboard group, the Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight, has complained to city regulators, saying the ads should be removed because they are in areas not zoned for advertising.
(Translation: Colt 45 is breaking the law.)
Nicole Seitz, the group’s program director, said the group knows of two painted Colt 45 ads in Fishtown, as well as about seven other similar ads for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Gayle Johns, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections, said inspectors were sent to investigate, but she did not know whether a citation was issued. She said the ads would be considered general outdoor advertising signs and would not be permitted under the zoning code.
So Pabst is a repeat offender in Philadelphia. What’s Philadelphia’s position on graffiti? According to the Philadelphia’s Police Department’s website:
Police officers from each division are assigned to enforce vandalism laws. They also investigate graffiti incidents and develop intelligence on significant graffiti vandals to insure the maximum penalty upon conviction. In addition, they cooperate with the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network.
Apparently the maximum penalty is painting over the ad and issuing 4 citations. Now had the murals been done with spray paint and not advertising for anything what do you think would have happened? Take a guess in the comments…
P.S. Wanna fight illegal ads in your neighborhood? Come to Eyebeam on Tuesday.
photo of colt45 ad brroklyn edition: corporate ads go native by kater
5 Comments
Sad I am to see Jim Mahfood doing this with his talent.
@Corey,
On the upside, now he is eligible for the AAAFFF.
Thats a SICK piece. If you fail to see the beauty of that mural you might as well be blind. So its an ad… At least they got an independent artist to do it, rather than some big cheesy advert agency. This is an example of much needed patronage for graffiti artists, or more generally for artists who arent as bound by the influence and desires of marketing.
The question isn’t about merit, VA—the question is about criminality. And more particularly, it’s about the fact that a corporation is allowed to create a criminal work like this without repercussions, whereas an individual artist isn’t. How is graffiti going to thrive if the only way it can be conducted is if it contains a commercial message?
Too bad, it’s such a good advertisement!