It’s the branding, stupid

September 20, 2008 at 1:25 pm in Politics, Shopping

Note to S. F. :

Is this poster really a good idea? I mean, right here (Sunset and Maltman,) right now (yesterday– and I ride by this corner a few times a week,) at this point in the election? It seems like it could be useful for the McCain campaign. Can’t you just see a 527 luridly splashing it on a massive direct mailing sent out to scare the most impressionable, most easily misled “undecided” voters?

Has the Palin situation gotten me this jumpy? Uh, yah.

“Alleged” cease-and-desist letters and street art branding wars aside, I quote from the “warning” link on the Obey site: “Please use common sense and consideration when applying stickers or other propaganda materials.”

Or maybe it’s just guerilla marketing for the Obey fashion/music/home/cake mix line? (Btw, the money clip? Loves it.)

[Full disclosure: I have a "hope" sticker on my car. And I'm curious about how the jeans fit.]

9 Comments »

monstrouscosmos

could you perhaps slap a hope (or some other) sticker over the offending portion of the sign next time you ride by?
http://frazgomeanders.blogspot.com frazgo

It is creepy. If it is an on-purpose ad for a business it is in very bad taste.
Are you sure it isn’t one of those parody posters floating around? I doubt you could get a ‘publican in weho, but it does have that bash potential.
http://www.superluckycat.com bromike666

Awesome poster. Dogma is dogma regardless of the party that’s laying it down or the people who blindly follow. Question all authority not just the “red state” guys.

Mr. Obama brings some great qualities to the table but that doesn’t mean I would follow him off a cliff just because he’s not “that other guy from that other party.”

Chavel, maybe you are the “he most impressionable, most easily misled “already decided” voter?” Ever think about that?
http://seanbonner.com Sean Bonner

This wasn’t made by Shepard, it’s someone making a statement about his work with his own pieces jammed together. This isn’t his own handiwork.
westondeboer

I am sorry to say that shepard isn’t doing this paster. It is on faded 8 1/2 x 11 yellow paper, this is someone else’s doing.
Matt Mason

As an ex-lawyer, at first blush I’m thinking, if Shep didn’t create this, it’s a massive copyright violation. It’s much more than using a sample of a Zep riff in a Beastie Boys song, for example. But then I remembered the classic example of the mustache on the Mona Lisa, and perhaps this is akin to that. I just hope that people remember that the First Amendment which allows this person to slap “OBEY” on Shep’s poster is what we should be voting to defend on November 5, and what we should always be fighting for.
Chal Pivik

Copyright infringement as applies to who took the original photo that was used in the first place? Man, SF is fucked. As is the Warhol estate. Oh, and Richard Prince. And that Duchamp dude too. Might be others. Let’s start a list.
Matt Mason

Yeah, this cycle of Obama’s own image (maybe from a photo by someone else) used by Shep then reused by the “Obey” guy is a beautiful example of the First Amendment at work. Nobody’s fucked. It’s all allowable.
Chal Pivik

Who knew art could be so much fun?

It’s the branding, stupid

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