One of the world’s largest corporations has sprayed New York with graffiti (left) depicting its hot new hand held game system – and a City Council member from Queens is demanding that the firm pay up for promoting van dalism.
Sony has placed paid ads for its PlayStation Portable in six outdoor-advertising locations around the city, but the graffiti- style campaign has outraged Queens Councilman Peter Vallone Jr.
Sony should remove the ads and donate $20,000 to anti-graffiti programs, Vallone said in a Dec. 30 letter to the company.
“Children are impressionable, and if they see a wall with graffiti on it and they don’t know that it’s done with permission, it could very well lead to them believing that it’s OK for them to do it,” he said.
Sony spokeswoman Molly Smith said the ads are designed to be “in an environment that would hit a consumer where they live, work and play,” she said.
The advertisements feature characters in baggy clothes doing odd things with their PSPs – including licking and straddling them.
The ads, drawn by local artists with black spray paint, feature no wording.
Sony’s ads are in “areas where the public has seen advertising,” said Smith. “It’s just how we’re using the space that’s different.”
The ads are slated to come down at the end of the month, she said.
angela.montefinise@nypost.com