A series of Nike ads in Singapore designed to resemble graffiti have stirred emotions in the Asian nation known for its obsession with cleanliness and civic order.
The small, page-size posters featuring anime-style images of NBA star LeBron James were pasted helter skelter over the ad panels of 700 bus stops, shocking commuters who are used to the ultratidy shelters.
"The idea is to do something naughty like wild-postings to disrupt the neat environment of Singapore and stay in line with the street-feel of this LeBron James basketball campaign," Nike spokeswoman Ann Kositchotitana said in a statement.
Public spaces are immaculate in Singapore, which once banned chewing gum and still levies fines against people who spit in public or forget to flush common toilets. Vandalism is especially taboo in the island republic, where American teenager Michael Fay was flogged with a cane after spray-painting cars in 1994.
Clear Channel said Nike took a calculated risk in its effort to create a buzz among Singapore's basketball-crazy youth.
"It was a deliberate act, meant to give viewers the impression that some street punk had hijacked somebody else's ad campaign. It looks kind of cheeky and kind of naughty - and it got noticed," said Henry Goh, Clear Channel's sales director in Singapore.
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