Sony slammed over PSP graffiti

Sony has caused outrage with a guerrilla marketing campaign for its PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld gaming platform.

The company hired graffiti artists to daub pictures of children playing with PSP consoles on cities across the US. But the campaign has run into trouble after complaints that the advertisements break anti-graffiti ordinances. 

Pedro Ramos, 'managing director' of Philadelphia, one of the affected cities, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sony, and has stated that he will be fining the company for violating city laws. He has ordered Sony to remove the paintings.

The campaign in Philadelphia has also been slammed by the Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight (Scrub), an activist group that fights illegal outdoor advertising and graffiti in the city. 

"Scrub believes that this renegade campaign is not about art, but about arrogance and greed," said the group in a statement. "Sony is violating Philadelphia sign laws and disrespecting its neighbourhoods."

The advertising campaign is running in seven American cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Adverts in San Francisco have already been defaced with comments like 'Fony' and 'Get out of my city'. 

This is not the first time a technology company has got into trouble for graffiti. In 2001, IBM was forced to pay more than $120,000 in fines and clean-up costs after its advertising agency spray-painted Linux advertisements on pavements in Chicago and San Francisco.

• Consumer Electronics Show 2006

See also:

Gamers crack Sony PSP software again

Hunger for home-brew apps drives users to alter gaming device  17 Nov 2005

First Sony PSP Trojan rears ugly head

Hacking tool will break portable gaming device  07 Oct 2005

Sony blocks PSP imports

The grey goose that lays the golden eggs  23 Jun 2005

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