IBM spray paint guerilla sentenced

A street artist employed by IBM to spray paint the streets of San Francisco and Chacago during the company's last guerrilla ad campaign has been sentenced to 30 days community service after the stunt went wrong.

Throughout April, IBM paid a group of "graffiti artists" to spray paint "peace, love and Linux" symbols on walls and pavements down from San Francisco's hippie hangout, Haight Ashbury, up to the big business centre, South of Market, and in the centre of Chicago.

The campaign was to advertise the company's new Linux products, but went horribly wrong when the 'bio-degradable' chalk turned out to be not so bio-degradable.

Big Blue was charged with "violation of a city ordinance" and slapped with an $18,000 fine. One of the so-called graffiti artists, Ali Morsy of Chicago, was also charged with criminal property damage and ordered to perform 30 days community service as a result.

Apparently the adverts should have washed off with the first rain, but days of downpour later, the penguins were still there and the San Francisco authorities were not happy.