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Sony Paid for Fake PSP Graffiti?

Posted by Zonk on Sun Dec 04, 2005 05:44 AM
from the no-shame dept.
Sony It's funny. Laugh. Portables (Games) The Almighty Buck
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.
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story

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[+] PSP Ad Draws Charges of Racism 537 comments
Lord Kano writes "The Guardian Unlimited is reporting that a new Sony ad for the upcoming white PSP has caused an uproar because of claims that it carries racist overtones. The ad depicts a white woman, clad all in white, grabbing the face of a black model in a dominating pose." From the article: "It's questionable whether the world is ready to explore themes of race and domination in the context of a videogame console ad. Although not as wilfully controversial as Benetton's infamous 'United Colours' campaign, many viewers will be unwilling or unable to decode the imagery until it becomes about two different colours of plastic." What do you think about this latest in a long line of PSP ads of questionable taste?
[+] Sony Behind Fake YouTube Viral Campaign 284 comments
Wowzer writes "Sony is up to the same old tricks again. Following in the footsteps of their fake PSP Graffiti campaign, Sony has hired marketing company Zipatoni to set up a YouTube-based viral marketing scheme for the Sony PSP. The company did this by registering the domain alliwantforxmasisapsp. There are no disclaimers to show it isn't 'real', but the website's whois points out it's setup by Zipatoni." From the C&VG article: "The lies don't end there, fake comments have been posted at Kotaku only linking to the Youtube video to increase its pageviews: 'Good call on DJ max. Regarding music: if changes were to be made for westerners, this guy should be considered - LOLZ'" Update: 12/13 02:37 GMT by Z : The Washington Post has an article stating that the FTC will look into situations like this, if they perchance to come up.
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Sony Paid for Fake PSP Graffiti? 50 Comments More /

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  • Sounds familiar... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by haunebu (16326) * on Sunday December 04 2005, @05:51AM (#14177589) Homepage
    Remember the whole IBM/Linux graffiti fiasco [cnn.com]?
  • 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.

    • Conclusive (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 04 2005, @08:29AM (#14177918)
      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.

    • I read elsewhere (wired [wired.com] maybe- check the last sentence of the article linked) that Sony was doing this but they were renting the walls. Personally, I thought it was clever but could see how it could backfire.

  • Repeat of the xbox launch? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by the_unknown_soldier (675161) on Sunday December 04 2005, @06:52AM (#14177716)
    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....

  • Double standards (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mcgroarty (633843) <brian@bri[ ].org ['anm' in gap]> on Sunday December 04 2005, @08:25AM (#14177912) Homepage
    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?

    • Re:Double standards (Score:5, Insightful)

      by moonbender (547943) <moonbender.gmail@com> on Sunday December 04 2005, @08:48AM (#14177970)
      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 [cnn.com] 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.
      • 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.

        The IBM graffiti may have been chalk-based but they sure as hell didn't wash off after one rain. The Boston-area ones were around for at least 18 months, in a city with no shortage of rain and snow.

      • 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.

        Look for the next story about it. They didn't wash off. You had to scrub like hell, and if you didn't they stayed untill they wore off. They were intended to come right off, but they blew it.
      • 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.

      • 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 of

    • Is this another example of selective outrate where it's not what's done that gets people mad, but who's doing it?

      It's a balance of who, what, and why. Some 15 year old punk doesn't get up from a bus seat to let an 80 year old invalid sit down, most people would find that rude. Rosa Parks doesn't get up from a bus seat...
       
    • Slashdotters were all cheering and happy when IBM sent guys around at night, painting those "Peace, Love and Linux" icons all over sidewalks
      Like hell we were. It was vandalism that unfairly placed a financial burden on the community then and it's the same thing now. That Sony are stupid enough to be doing this when there are a hojillion little spotlights pointed at them is hard to believe. Frankly, Sony are becoming the new SCO.
    • It is even more of a double standard when you find out that Sony actually paid to paint those walls. Of course you would have to get you news from elsewhere that does not have as much of an axe to grind, to find out about that part.

  • Like MSN in 2002 (Score:5, Informative)

    by NoSuchGuy (308510) <do-not-harvest-m ... dot@spa.mtrap.de> on Sunday December 04 2005, @09:06AM (#14178020) Journal
    For the launch [clickz.com] of MSN 8 there were the MSN butterflies everywhere. Here are some pics. [altterrain.com]
  • I presume it's the same everywhere but our city centre streets are continually blighted by illegal posters for records & tours etc.

    Here's one such story with an Iron Maiden poster

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/ 4376267.stm [bbc.co.uk]

    The big record companies pay organised criminal gangs to ruin our streets and then WE have to pay to have it cleared up.

    Makes me sick
    • If you like the poster it is freedom of speech. If you don't like the poster it is an eyesore.
      Frankly I do think Sony needs some BIG fines for this. But if Greenpeace did the same thing I would want them fined as well. Freedom of speech doesn't mean the freedom to deface anyone's property even the public's.

  • Sony's complete apathy (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SleepyHappyDoc (813919) on Sunday December 04 2005, @09:29AM (#14178083)
    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.
      • Your other options for next-generation consoles are Microsoft and Nintendo, both companies that have tried to use dominant market positions to keep competition out.

        Pray tell, what illegal strategies has Nintendo employed to keep its dominant market position and keep competition out? In the handheld market, they're not keeping the competition out, they simply make a better machine and Sony screws up all by itself.

      • So it's now Sony's fault that users, who have their DRM software installed, just cicked-through a legally binding document that allows Sony to install such software?

        Um, yeah. It's very much Sony's fault for creating and distributing this software. Most people don't read these EULAs, and no normal person expects a rootkit to be installed when they're simply trying to listen to music. Sony knew exactly what would happen to its users (to the very people who gave Sony money, nota bene!), and they went ahead

  • I'm surprised there's any doubt... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PhotoBoy (684898) on Sunday December 04 2005, @09:47AM (#14178135)
    ... 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
  • I think this was reported about a couple weeks back on This Week In Tech or somewhere else (not sure where). Although the link to Sony wasn't very clear then either.

    I wouldn't be surprised if this was true though. The PSP marketing blitz hasn't done them much good, so I guess they're thinking a grass-roots / subliminal campaign might be a better option than in your face advertising.

  • Luckily, indeed... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Otter (3800) on Sunday December 04 2005, @10:01AM (#14178194) Journal
    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.

  • ...I personally wouldn't put it past a different company competing with Sony (say MS, who just had a big product launch, or Nintendo who compete directly with the PSP itself) to pay for something like this to make Sony look bad. But then I am incredibly cynical.

    Oh, I also work for Sony. But I didn't spraypaint anything :D

  • Apprentice (Score:3, Informative)

    by Taulin (569009) on Sunday December 04 2005, @12:09PM (#14178731) Homepage Journal
    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.
  • 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 Chi
  • Sony need to stop trying to attract the kind of people who enjoy graffiti and rebelling against the system, because they will only be seen as the enemy if they try to take their corporate marketing to an anti corporate audience.
  • Around 13th and South Street in Philadelphia. There is a tatoo shop that usually has grafitti on the side and while bar hopping I noticed it.

    Three chracters using a psp with different thinks like licking a psp on a stick or using is at a paddle ball.

    I thought perhaps the artist was just being over zealous over a pop statement about his personal psp and his friends, but perhaps it was one of these paid adds.
  • Wouldn't it be fun to walk around their parking area/building with a spray can and do a little of your own advertising. And you might want to bring some mace in case their rent-a-cops come after you. You might even target the most compensatory SUVs, as those probably belong to the marketing wanks who came up with this stupid idea. Too bad we can't do it because it is against the law.
  • I saw posters here, nothing on raw walls. The kids look like they are on drugs and the PSP in each image is not being used as you would expect. Skateboard, Paddleball, etc.

    Personally it wont sway my choice of handheld game device, but it's interesting to see a corp take this kind of risk. Can't the city sue them?
    • Or do you mean that vandalising is OK as long as it's not done for profit?

      No, it's not OK, but normally, illegal tags are created by bored (and possibly stupid) kids who mark their territories like dogs pissing on corners. What exactly is Sony's excuse for behaving like that?

      • Having known more than a handful of taggers and sticker-slappers in my time, I assure you that not all of them are stupid, and hardly any of them were bored. Often, specifically with 'message' pieces, the artists (and yes, they are artists, no matter how illegal their work may be) are doing what they can do to 'speak out' against any number of social ills and injustices. The gang tags that you are likely referring to are inconsequential in this argument, as not everyone with a bag of paints and a roll of

        • I know. I used to spray murals, too, a few years ago. I was talking about the tags (the smaller paintings which are usually done in one color and contain not a lot more than the name of the person doing it), not about murals. Even though I'll be the first to freely admit that painting murals - especially on private property - is really stupid (whether the one doing it is smart or not), and had I been caught, I sure as hell wouldn't have complained about it.

          Sony's stupid little crappy pictures are clearly n

          • Sony's ads are not vandalism. They paid the property owners for the right to paint on thier walls. The only vandals are the ones who defaced the art.

            The Sony ads are no different than a billboard. I would much rather look at the ads than a billboard though.
        • Once you live in a neighborhood that has significant amounts of vandalism, you really do come to appreciate graffiti artists; the good ones, at least. There is such a huge difference between some guy spray painting his name on a wall and someone actually taking a little time and making a nice, spray-painted mural. Also, the more real graffiti art there is the less tagging you see around.

          P.S. I have never attended art school.

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