Sign of the times.

In the shadows of the vandalism and theft of Bangkok's Ratchaprasong sign, the city is seeing a new breed of street insignia spring up, with the specific goal of duping the motorist as s/he snails forward in the gridlock.

With marketing real estate at a premium and anything now fair game it seems, brands are taking ever more desperate measures to get under the radar and into the consumer psyche – even if it means stealing legitimacy from the highways as this cheeky invasion of corporate signs in disguise testifies.

And while one can understand how hospitals and even hotels justify their street presence – condominiums and golf clubs clearly have no place on the road, though the community is admirably it appears answering back en masse directly with self-authored content.

Delete.

We've seen the street fight back before in the shape of pockets of Brandalism, but now direct volunteer action has reached an unprecedented scale – with NYC collective New York Street Advertising Takeover (or NYSAT) whitewashing 126 unregistered (and unsightly) bill boards that were up until now being used illegally. And the good news too is that in most cases the replacement imagery is more pleasing to the eye than the typical corporate clutter that it's supplanted.

Via social media master Neil Perkin.

Brandalism.

It's not just local councils who police the canvas of the streets; the underground's at it too – with a war on branded street art. Just try to get under the radar and become sub culture and you enter a world of apparently more genuine and authentic communicators intolerant of the empty promises of marketing, where Sony stencils like these get obliterated in minutes. 

If only the same forces exercised such power and taste above the line.

Via Happy Thought.