Clean graffiti

Step 1: Make a template out of cardboard with the slogan you want to write.

Instead of writing it with a spray can, you will paint detergent on to a dirty wall, so that the grime is removed to reveal your message (clean writing on a dirty wall).

Step 2: Mix some detergent with water.

Step 3: Place your stencil against the wall.

Step 4: Paint your message using the detergent solution. No damage. No permission needed. This could even be seen as socially responsible, as if the owner of the wall wants to remove the “offending message’, all he or she needs to do is to clean the whole of the wall (for the benefit of everybody).

Idea taken from the book “Guerrilla Advertising” by Gavin Lucas and Michael Dorrian, which is subtitled “Unconventional Brand Communication". The book is published by Laurence King, www.laurenceking.co.uk. Other great ideas in the book include:

Paint lines and messages (in chalk or water soluble paint) so as not to cause permanent damage. Use this technique to designate a smoking area outside your office with the woirds “Designated Smoking Area” or with an anti-smoking message (such as “Smoke here if you must”). Furnish it with an ashtray. Note that the England ban on smoking in public places such as restaurants and bars comes into effect in July 2007.

Here are two campaigning examples:
• A cut out streetwalker is strapped to a lamp post. After a week of rain, dirt and being defaced, this message is added above the girl: “No woman should be left out on the streets”. The Women’s Information Safe House (WISH), in Vancouver.

• Two hands attached to the underside of a street drain, suggesting an imprisoned person trying to climb out, with the following message tattooed on to the index fingers: “WRONG” “FAITH” to highlight the plight of people who are locked up simply because of their relisious beliefs. Amensty International, in Frankfurt.

About Guerrilla Advertising: The advertising industry is in a state of flux. In an age where we can choose what media we consume the traditional channels of TV, press and poster are no longer always the most appropriate for a brand to reach its target audience. As a result, global brands are opting to implement ever more inventive and original schemes to get their products talked about. Microsoft covered Manhattan in butterfly stickers, Volkswagen made a Polo out of ice and parked it on a London street, and Adidas suspended two footballers high above the streets of Tokyo for a death-defying kickabout. This book shows the best international examples of the varied and inventive tactics that are being used today by big-name brands, non-profit organizations and individuals to promote themselves, their ideas and their products. Over 70 international campaigns are featured grouped according to their approach: Stunts, Street Propaganda, Sneaky Tactics, Site-specific campaigns and Multi-fronted attacks.