The latest stencil from street artist Above has been released just in time for both Easter and the collapse of the world economy.
Monthly Archives: April 2009
Might as Well Post These
We normally don’t post projects that are corporate promotions, but in the interest of not getting any more emails to the tune of, “Have you guys seen this?” here they are:
The first is a commercial for T-Mobile that aired on UK television. The second is a publicity stunt / viral video that was made to promote a Belgian reality TV show centered around a production of The Sound of Music.
The T-Mobile video came first; it was released in January. Of course there have been many flash mobs and Improv Everywhere-style events staged in London’s Liverpool Street Station, long before T-Mobile. The Belgian video was released in March, hot on the heels of T-Mobile’s success. The videos are pretty similar to each other, but what I found really hilarious was how brazenly the Belgian team ripped off the T-Mobile behind-the-scenes video. Check them out side-by-side:
Both videos are very well made and are no doubt entertaining. Of course it helps that they both had a big corporate budget and permits to use the train stations. Like I said, we weren’t going to post them since they are huge commercial ventures and not the work of the independent pranksters and artists we love to feature, but after getting 100 tips about them emailed to us, why the hell not.
Tweenbots
Tweenbots is a new project by Kacie Kenzer. She explains:
Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.
(Thanks Haley and Danielle)
Little Public Plaques
Keetra Dean Dixon installed little public plaques around New York City. She writes:
Familiar slogans used during delightful moments of play or as a childhood reassurance are placed within public spaces. I hope to stimulate a discrete communal dialogue, insert moments of discovery into the daily routine & encourage a more intimate relation with a chosen path.
(Thanks Steve)
Urban Clowns
For his Urban Clowns project, Stefan Benchoam placed red vinyl stickers onto advertisements on the streets of Guatemala City to instantly make them funnier. He writes:
In recent years, Guatemala City has become severely plagued with advertising of all kinds. I realized that instead of adding to the problem of visual pollution, I could use what was already there. By adding a simple red circle to them, anyone can effectively turn its meaning upside-down.
Twitter Street Art
Best Funeral Ever: Outtakes
In case you didn’t hear, the Improv Everywhere funeral prank was a hoax for April Fool’s Day. The family members were all actors who were friends of the group. Today they released a video of outtakes from the shoot. The craziest thing about all of this is that the local news covered it as a real event, not even bothering to get a source other than a YouTube video posted by a prank group on April Fool’s Day. Ridiculous!
World Pillow Fight Day is Saturday
World Pillow Fight Day is Saturday. Check out their site for a list of cities participating around the world. The New York event, organized by Newmindspace, has added a “no feathers” policy. This sounds like a good idea after the recent hubbub in San Francisco.
Improv Everywhere: Best Funeral Ever
(Watch in HD on YouTube)
edited by Matt Adams / music by Tyler Walker
For their latest mission, 30 Improv Everywhere agents found a random funeral in the obituary section of the newspaper and turned it into the best funeral ever. They picked a man who had very few surviving relatives and then showed up to his funeral to make it truly awesome.
More info and photos: Best Funeral Ever
UPDATE: Of course, this was fake.