The Billboard Liberation Front has just released a brilliant new advertising improvement campaign celebrating the innovative collaboration between AT&T and the NSA. This billboard improvement can be seen at 14th St. and Valencia St. in San Francisco. For more info see the BLF press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2008
San Francisco, CA
http://billboardliberation.com/HQ.htmlThe Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants.
“This campaign is an extraordinary rendition of a public-private partnership,†observed BLF spokesperson Blank DeCoverly. “These two titans of telecom have a long and intimate relationship, dating back to the age of the telegraph. In these dark days of Terrorism, that should be a comfort to every law-abiding citizen with nothing to hide.â€
AT&T initially downplayed its heroic efforts in the War on Terror, preferring to serve in silence behind the scenes. “But then we realized we had a PR win on our hands,†noted AT&T V.P. of Homeland Security James Croppy. “Not only were we helping NSA cut through the cumbersome red tape of the FISA system, we were also helping our customers by handing over their e-mails and phone records to the government. Modern life is so hectic – who has time to cc the feds on every message? It’s a great example of how we anticipate our customers’ needs and act on them. And, it should be pointed out, we offered this service free of charge.â€
Commenting on the action, and responding to questions about pending privacy litigation and the stalled Congressional effort to shield the telecoms from these lawsuits, NSA spokesperson [REDACTED] remarked: “[REDACTED] we [REDACTED] condone [REDACTED] warrantless [REDACTED], [REDACTED] SIGINT intercepts, [REDACTED] torture [REDACTED] information retrieval by [REDACTED] means necessary.â€
“It’s a win-win-win situation,†noted the BLF’s DeCoverly. “NSA gets the data it needs to keep America safe, telecom customers get free services, and AT&T makes a fortune. That kind of cooperation between the public and private sectors should serve as a model to all of us, and a harbinger of things to come.â€
The BLF (www.billboardliberation.com) has been improving outdoor advertising since 1977. Prior campaigns have included work for Exxon, R.J. Reynolds, and Apple Computers.
AT&T (www.att.com) is America’s favorite telecommunications trust. Based in San Antonio, Texas, it has over 300,000 employees and annual revenues of $117 Billion.
NSA (www.nsa.gov) is the largest intelligence organization in the world. Headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland, its budget, personnel, products, and services are all classified.
Here’s the before photo of the AT&T billboard…
…and here’s the photo of the AT&T billboard after the improvement.
Here’s a video of the billboard being altered.
photos by Jacob Appelbaum, Milton Rand Kalman & Mademoiselle Rouxben
Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:
- Billboard Liberation Front: Money to Burn (Wachovia Bank)
- The Billboard Liberation Front
- Billboard Liberation Front: To Serve Man
- Billboard Liberation Front on NoOne’s Listening
- BMW Beats Audi In a Game of Billboard Chess
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Perfect! I don’t get the original, though. What’s Chilondoscow supposed to be?
This was so great, I had to go and see it first hand! It’s still up as of around 3pm on Thursday Feb. 28, although some of the letters have been partially peeled off-
http://www.michaelprados.com/blog/?p=4
as an advertising creative I dare say this is far from perfect. altering a billboard in san francisco, even though that was a key place in this story, means they didn’t consider the audience. this should have done along some major freeway in washington or even on k-street (this is a national campaign, I am sure they could have found a location). that way at least a couple of people who didn’t already agree with the implied statement could have been affected – perhaps even a couple of policymakers.
or even do it across the street from a cnn office. you get the point – this could have been bigger. in terms of advertising, this is a fuckup. someone who should have spent another minute thinking about this dropped the ball.
culture jamming without consideration for the audience is a wasted effort, much like an impractical fashion choice, and stroking of ones own ego at best.
Hey “required_name”! ^^^^,
“this should have done along some major freeway in washington or even on k-street (this is a national campaign, I am sure they could have found a location). that way at least a couple of people who didn’t already agree with the implied statement could have been affected – perhaps even a couple of policymakers.or even do it across the street from a cnn office. you get the point ”
You jackass!!
I am supposed to spend two weeks of my wage to fly to Washington DC, scout a billboard site, hookup or somehow organize co-conspirators, and pull off the the deed while 3000 miles away from my shop, bed, refrigerator and Uhu glue stick so i can appeal to PEOPLE THAT MATTER LIKE $@#!! GOVERNMENT STOOGES or OBSOLETE MEDIA HACKS ??!!! I I think you have failed to grasp the concept of agitprop entirely. WE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT MATTER!! Screw the government creeps and the propaganda corporations. They are the f___ing enemy. Cranking the debate back into the realm ot the REAL and FREE, taking back the public space and prerogative that has been forfeited and stolen is up to us andf us alone. We are not gonna get help from Jesus, Bono, a dead Thomas Jefferson or anywhere else, and certainly not from the same bastards and class that are sinking the world into the violence, polluted desolation and Orwellian nightmare.
“- this could have been bigger. in terms of advertising, this is a fuckup. someone who should have spent another minute thinking about this dropped the ball.”
hey sure, it boils down to tactical savvy and being real about the mechanics and effectiveness of mass action. There is no greater delusion that the Politics of Conscience and symbolism – it isn’t abut maintiaining ethical purity or deniability or slumming with spraypaint on the weekends to make the week spent in humiliation and harness seem bearable.
But Hey! Consider that the message has even reached a jerk like you – the BLF has spent more time making their site, promoting coverage, distributing links, and documenting this one measly little and, – to my scratched and inkstained hands, – EASY billboard job.
Man, what was it that you called yourself? …an advertising “creative”?
….the nerve of some people calling themselves “creative”…
Throughly enjoyed the witty Public release statement from the BLF. Good work. Keep it coming…
Anon said “Perfect! I don’t get the original, though. What’s Chilondoscow supposed to be?” It means “China London Moscow” and it is an indication how convoluted ATT has become…. The BLF cut through all the mess and spells out reality nicely…