IBM sidewalk campaign takes bad turn

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Drop that spray can, IBM, and put your arms in the air.

Jennifer Plesha, manager of Spex On Clark is upset about graffiti outside her store in Chicago, seen here Tuesday. IBM has been caught red-handed spraying black paint on sidewalks on Chicago‰s North Side. Associated Press

According to IBM, the sidewalk paintings for its "Peace, Love and Linux" campaign were supposed to be drawn with biodegradable chalk. But somewhere along the way in the computer maker's communications network, that message apparently garbled.

Instead, the outside contractors hired for the curious campaign carried out their orders with the more enduring techniques of graffiti artists, officials in both cities charge.

"We're taking this very seriously," said Christine Falvey, spokeswoman for the City Department of Public Works in San Francisco. "We can't have scores of company logos on our sidewalks."

Linux is a computer operating system built on open standards, meaning any programmer can see how it works. An increasing number of companies are selling Linux-based products.

IBM said the campaign has been halted, and that it will remove the paintings.

Chicago officials were first alerted to the graffiti when Ali Morsy, 20, was arrested April 18 for spray painting the symbols on the sidewalk.

Similar images were spray-painted at nearly 100 different sites around Chicago, officials said.

The city plans to bill IBM for removing the graffiti $67 per half-hour— the estimated time it takes to clean each site. The company also faces fines that could run from $10 to $200 for each site, said Ray Padvoiskis, spokesman for the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

In San Francisco, IBM was warned last week it would face fines or charges if the artwork was not immediately removed from five neighborhoods.