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Sony Paid for Fake PSP Graffiti?

Posted by Zonk on from the no-shame dept.

Eli Gottlieb writes "It would appear that the Sony Corporation (known for their world-class rootkits) paid graffitists to paint pictures of children using their new PSPs on city walls. Sony "artists" (corporate operatives?) have even been caught in the act of painting advertising campaigns on public walls. Note that these are not paid-for billboards or advertising media, but illegal graffiti in the first place. Beyond that, Sony is attempting to co-opt the subculture and possibly even artistic integrity of real graffists to sell more PSPs! Luckily, people have started to paint back and show that corporate vandals are not welcome." Though it does appear the vandal depicted is copying the image off of a sheet of paper, there's no real proof of Sony's complicity. Take with a grain of salt.

19 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds familiar... by haunebu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Remember the whole IBM/Linux graffiti fiasco?

    --

    Blue skies, Barthy Burgers, girls...

    1. Re:Sounds familiar... by dago · · Score: 4, Informative

      ... and a MSN / Butterfly one.

      --
      #include "coucou.h"
    2. Re:Sounds familiar... by EnronHaliburton2004 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Some of those IBM/Linux sprays are still there, 4.5 years, 300,000 pedestrians and 150 rainstorms later.

      I'm so glad it was "biodegradable chalk".

      --
      94% of Repubs and 21% of Dems voted to renew the Patriot Act
  2. I don't know...This seems too illegal... by radiopillows · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Any word on Sony actually being tied to this? I mean, yes it's highly unlikely that anyone would promote the PSP other than Sony, but I'm curious if this was a decision they actually approved or supported.

  3. Repeat of the xbox launch? by the_unknown_soldier · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This sounds like a repeat of the XBOX launch. In my city (melbourne) Microsoft spray painted a lot of streets with the green "X" logo, causing a huge fuss in the media about it being graffitti. Seems companies never learn....

  4. Re:Hilarious! by HoneyBunchesOfGoats · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In some places - here in Gainesville, FL, for instance - there are walls where graffiti is permitted. So these people could be subverting the legitimacy of actual "graffists" both by painting corporate advertising and by painting in illegal places.

  5. Re:Hilarious! by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Some people hire graffiti artists to paint pictures on their walls. Not all graffiti is the illegal kind.

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  6. Double standards by mcgroarty · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Slashdotters were all cheering and happy when IBM sent guys around at night, painting those "Peace, Love and Linux" icons all over sidewalks what -- coopting pacifist culture? Is this another example of selective outrate where it's not what's done that gets people mad, but who's doing it?

    1. Re:Double standards by moonbender · · Score: 4, Insightful

      First of all, yes, that's right, I'll reserve the right to be selectively outraged depending on what's being sprayed. I'm outraged at swastika graffiti, not so much at actual pictures. What's being sprayed is very much part of "what's done", who's doing it is really not relevant. Reading the CNN story about the IBM graffitis that's also linked at the top of this thread, the IBM graffitis were really inconspicious, and sprayed on the sidewalks which certainly aren't as critical as building walls. Most importantly though, they were made from chalk: "It washes right off, so it will be removed the next time it rains." Total non-issue.

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    2. Re:Double standards by uofitorn · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I completely agree. At the University where I work at near downtown Chicago, I still see GTA San Andreas stickers on my commute to work (stuck to streetlamps, mailboxes, etc.) years after the game came out. The chalk IBM layed is certainly more ephemeral than the GTA stickers. I've noticed workers struggling to remove them but they usually give up after a while and let them remain.

      --
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    3. Re:Double standards by scheme · · Score: 2, Informative
      Reading the CNN story about the IBM graffitis that's also linked at the top of this thread, the IBM graffitis were really inconspicious, and sprayed on the sidewalks which certainly aren't as critical as building walls. Most importantly though, they were made from chalk: "It washes right off, so it will be removed the next time it rains." Total non-issue.

      I still see some of the IBM linux graffiti here in Chicago. The rain and snow that it's experienced in the last 4 years doesn't seem to have washed it off.

      --
      "When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it
  7. Conclusive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The graffiti characters all match, despite having been done by different artists. They're what marketers call "on message."

    The idea that multiple graffiti artists in different locations simultaneously designed the same PSP using characters and then.... it's so laughable I can't even finish that sentence.

    As long as these photographs are genuine, there is *no* way that this isn't centrally coordinated. I suppose it's possible some fanboys might have decided to promote the PSP this way, but it doesn't really seem like fanboy behaviour. It's too organized and the graphic design is too well done.

    Nintendo occasionally gets that kind of grass-roots support, but only for their legendary characters, not for a current product shot. Two story Mario 1 mural, sure. Nintendo DS graffiti, no.

    1. Re:Conclusive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This may not be graffiti, but I'm sure many people remember these Nintendo fanboys 4 story work of art.

  8. Like MSN in 2002 by NoSuchGuy · · Score: 4, Informative

    For the launch of MSN 8 there were the MSN butterflies everywhere. Here are some pics.

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    Grundgesetz * 23. Mai 1949 - 30. November 2007 - http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/
  9. Sony's complete apathy by SleepyHappyDoc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Between this and the rootkit, it's obvious Sony doesn't give a flying fuck about anyone's rights. Not the rights of the owners of the property they are vandalising, not the rights of the owners of the computers they rootkitted, and not their customers. They just don't care. At this point, if all the prepaid PS3 orders come in as boxes filled with paper mache, it wouldn't completely surprise me. No ethics at all.

    --
    Stasis is death. Embrace change.
  10. I'm surprised there's any doubt... by PhotoBoy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... that Sony paid for this. I mean it's the same looking characters holding PSPs appearing in cities all over the US. If it's not Sony then these are some really dedicated PSP owners out there pushing the brand.

    Then again, given the lack of decent games and homebrew on the PSP I'm sure these guys have plenty of spare time to use in trekking across the country shilling for Sony. :p

  11. Luckily, indeed... by Otter · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Luckily, people have started to paint back and show that corporate vandals are not welcome.

    No offense, assholes, but your vandalism is unwelcome, corporate or otherwise.

    --
    What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
  12. Apprentice by Taulin · · Score: 2, Informative

    There was also an episode of The Apprentice, where Sony wanted the team to paint a street graffiti picture on the side of the building advertising GT4. I guess they just took this to the next step.

  13. What if Microsoft did this? by Rosebud128 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Do we have proof that Sony did this? There is a story of a guy caught in action, but the story never confirmed he was from Sony or anything else.

    Look carefully at the pictures. They do not depict the PSP in a positive light. The PSP is like a toy to the children. And in each picture, the children are not even looking at their PSP. Their gaze is elseware as if they were hypnotized. The swirl look in their eyes resembles the Microsoft 360 logo.

    These pictures appeared in the major Xbox 360 launch cities of Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia all around the Xbox 360 launch. And Microsoft has done this type of activity before with MSN.

    The more I think about it, the more it appears that Microsoft is behind this. It is even better how their rival, Sony, will get the blame for the graffiti.