PSP graffiti ads, seen in NYC, painted over in Philadelphia

Iria · Jan 1, 2006, 04:42 PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ The graffiti ads placed by Sony in New York and several other cities to advertise its PlayStation Portable game system have been painted over in some Philadelphia neighborhoods, apparently by residents, city officials said Friday.

The city and anti-blight campaigners had protested the black-on-white cartoon characters riding the PSP like a skateboard or licking it like a lollipop. The stealth marketing campaign has quietly popped up in large U.S. cities.

Philadelphia Managing Director Pedro Ramos, who sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company on Wednesday, said one ad was painted over when it went up earlier in the week and two others were painted over late Thursday or early Friday.

None of the work, he said, was done by city employees. Workers saw a man "who indicated he owned the property" painting over one of the ads, the city said in a statement.
__________
Read More / Source: NewsDay

Tipstaff · Jan 2, 2006, 01:39 AM

For those that haven't seen them: 1, 2, and one of the more creative coverups (I wish I could show the rest of that wall though).

niceguyrichy · Jan 2, 2006, 04:22 AM

i'm in 2 minds about the graff thing.

i recognise that it can just be horrible kids making a mess of your neighbourhood, but at the same time i have friends who treat graff as proper art, do it to brighten up some shut down bus station or whatever.

I like sonys ads, think the folks who are covering them up are over-reacting somewhat.
i mean, what's prettier to look at?
a great big slab of grey concrete?
or an entertaining and clever graf?

Tipstaff · Jan 2, 2006, 05:44 AM

You have to look at it from a different perspective. Graffiti is illegal in a lot of States/Provinces. It's considered vandalisim. This PSP graffiti is showing up everywhere from public property, to private property (there was one instance of a womans house covered with this graffiti). I have seen a lot of damn fine graffiti, and I have to say that the designs for these PSP ones are pretty good. In Toronto we have a "Graffiti Alley" that is a good kilometer long, and is always filled with graffiti. It's considered a tourist attraction since some of the graffiti is pretty nicely done, but one thing still remains: it's illegal. What is of interest is that this PSP graffiti isn't just showing up in one state, but infact a number of them, and they are the exact same designs which means it's organized. A little too organized, and if it turns out that Sonys ad agency hired a company or these guys to do the graffiti, then they are in some deep, deep crap.

YAYitsAndrew · Jan 3, 2006, 12:39 AM

Must be hard for sony to have such an in-your-face marketing attitude and still be outsold worldwide by the nintendo ds.

niceguyrichy · Jan 3, 2006, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YAYitsAndrew

Must be hard for sony to have such an in-your-face marketing attitude and still be outsold worldwide by the nintendo ds.

you just love that ds , huh

i played it at a promotional event when it was released, it seemed pretty nice.
but I've not played a handheld since I got my gameboy in 1989, so what do I know.

FireElements · Jan 3, 2006, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niceguyrichy

you just love that ds , huh

i played it at a promotional event when it was released, it seemed pretty nice.
but I've not played a handheld since I got my gameboy in 1989, so what do I know.

Do yourself a favor, buy a DS.

niceguyrichy · Jan 3, 2006, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireElements

Do yourself a favor, buy a DS.

if i felt the need for portable gaming, i'd have a ds over a psp for sure.

thing with the psp is, I already have a handheld pc, and a 250mhz cpu in my mobile phone (which also plays Worms etc flawlessly might I add), so why do I need a game console to surf the net etc

Randomletters · Jan 3, 2006, 03:06 AM

Im likin the all in one PSP. The games are more my taste, MP3 playback is definately good enough for me ( I may pick up better headphones later on) The photo viewer is semi useless but with the various PSP Formatted magazines/books out it definately has more of a purpose. The UMD/memory Stick video playback is excellent. The homebrew scene is pretty cool. Currently PSP Operating systems are being developed. I have yet to try PSPRadio, which allows you to connect to shoutcasts (winamps) Online radio database, but I will have my wireless router tomorrow. Some of the homebrew games are also pretty fun and definately help kill time.

Jan 1, 2006, 04:42 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	PSP graffiti ads, seen in NYC, painted over in Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ The graffiti ads placed by Sony in New York and several other cities to advertise its PlayStation Portable game system have been painted over in some Philadelphia neighborhoods, apparently by residents, city officials said Friday. The city and anti-blight campaigners had protested the black-on-white cartoon characters riding the PSP like a skateboard or licking it like a lollipop. The stealth marketing campaign has quietly popped up in large U.S. cities. Philadelphia Managing Director Pedro Ramos, who sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company on Wednesday, said one ad was painted over when it went up earlier in the week and two others were painted over late Thursday or early Friday. None of the work, he said, was done by city employees. Workers saw a man "who indicated he owned the property" painting over one of the ads, the city said in a statement. __________ Read More / Source: NewsDay

Jan 2, 2006, 01:39 AM	#2
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 191 System Specs	For those that haven't seen them: 1, 2, and one of the more creative coverups (I wish I could show the rest of that wall though). __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Jan 2, 2006, 05:44 AM	#4
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 191 System Specs	You have to look at it from a different perspective. Graffiti is illegal in a lot of States/Provinces. It's considered vandalisim. This PSP graffiti is showing up everywhere from public property, to private property (there was one instance of a womans house covered with this graffiti). I have seen a lot of damn fine graffiti, and I have to say that the designs for these PSP ones are pretty good. In Toronto we have a "Graffiti Alley" that is a good kilometer long, and is always filled with graffiti. It's considered a tourist attraction since some of the graffiti is pretty nicely done, but one thing still remains: it's illegal. What is of interest is that this PSP graffiti isn't just showing up in one state, but infact a number of them, and they are the exact same designs which means it's organized. A little too organized, and if it turns out that Sonys ad agency hired a company or these guys to do the graffiti, then they are in some deep, deep crap. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Jan 3, 2006, 12:39 AM	#5
YAYitsAndrew Anti-Piracy Poster Boy Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 2,605 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Must be hard for sony to have such an in-your-face marketing attitude and still be outsold worldwide by the nintendo ds. __________________ "It is because the resistance to paying for copyrighted material, although often characterized as arising from a supposed technical burden or principled concern for the public interest, arises rather from exactly the same segment of the brain that is dominant in shoplifters." - Mark Helprin, Digital Barbarism In other words, it's never okay to steal even if you think you have a good reason! www.yayitsandrew.com

Jan 3, 2006, 03:06 AM	#9
Randomletters ))<>(( Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,418 Rep Power: 54	Im likin the all in one PSP. The games are more my taste, MP3 playback is definately good enough for me ( I may pick up better headphones later on) The photo viewer is semi useless but with the various PSP Formatted magazines/books out it definately has more of a purpose. The UMD/memory Stick video playback is excellent. The homebrew scene is pretty cool. Currently PSP Operating systems are being developed. I have yet to try PSPRadio, which allows you to connect to shoutcasts (winamps) Online radio database, but I will have my wireless router tomorrow. Some of the homebrew games are also pretty fun and definately help kill time. __________________ <----------- Sexy Budget Rig stats to the left.