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‘Subvertising’ hits McDonald’s billboard
A vomiting emoji on Cumberland Road wasn’t quite what McDonald’s had in mind for their new ad campaign.
Rather than bringing a smile to your face, one mystery ‘subvertiser’ has altered the billboard near the Louisiana to show a happy customer being sick after a visit to the golden arches.
It’s not the first time that a billboard in Bristol has been altered in this way.
Talking to The Spark in 2008, one subvertiser explained how he carried out his alterations: “I add graphics and words to change the meaning of the advertisers’ slogans from one of commercialism to one that is anti-war, anti-capitalist and which presents an alternative view of the world.
“Bristol has always had a counter-culture history – it’s what brought me here and what keeps me here – and I’m just carrying that on by trying to provide an alternative to the prevailing materialist images that are absolutely everywhere. The standard view of the world that is fed to us through TV and newspapers and billboards is not the only one, you know?”
