Sunday, December 20, 2009

Beer and Graffiti?

It used to be Joe Camel. Now advertisers are getting into graffiti type advertising to entice kids to use products. Graffiti-style malt liquor ads are drawing fire from parents and anti-blight advocates in a city known for its colorful murals.


Colt 45  is the most recent culprit. The ads for Colt 45 malt liquor show comic book-style characters clutching bottles and cans of booze. "Works every time," reads the slogan. I am very ambivalent about these ads, generally hating all advertising whether street art-like or not. As a photographer of street art however, I am outraged. I think it denigrades the art form. Okay, maybe that's just me.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Raul "Rez" Barquet said...

Marketers have been using graffiti to benefit big business shamelessly for sometime. It was only a matter of time that the advertising was moved to the street, instead of the graffiti being moved to the ads. It's a shame that even the most pure forms of self expression will in the end be corrupted by the almighty dollar.

1/28/2010 11:51:00 PM  
Anonymous Charlene said...

There was someone called "The Splasher" a couple of years ago who splashed paint on street art (for some reason). Maybe we should bring the splasher out of retirement for these ads.....

1/29/2010 05:08:00 AM  
Blogger Raul "Rez" Barquet said...

Yeah I'm pretty sure he got one of Shepard Fairey's paintings when it was in the Jonathan Levine gallery over on 20th street if I'm not mistaken. Pretty fucked up but It might do the trick lol.

1/29/2010 06:54:00 PM  

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