In October, the American Apparel billboard on Allen and Houston Streets, then picturing an ass shot of a topless woman wearing AA leggings, was spray painted with the message “Gee, I wonder why women get raped.” The ad was soon replaced and nothing was heard of it until now, when someone claiming responsibility wrote Jezebel to say:

First off, i’m not a graf writer. Honestly, I was just reacting to the constantly degrading images of women that AA creates. That ad in particular - headless, bent over, composed so that the focus was irrefutable… I went home, grabbed some spraypaint, took the train back and waited until 4am to climb the scaffolding.

We admire the determination in going all the way home then coming back for some billboard modifications, but it’s nearly 2008, so better make it a resolution to be prepared and always keep spraypaint on hand.

Photograph by GammaBlog on Flickr

Lionsgate realizes that making the 80’s Rambo series relevant again is going to take some special effort. “With nearly 20 years gone by since “Rambo III” hit the big screen, the studio wanted to do something to make sure the new film stood out from the crowd.” What did they do? They did the exact same thing as every other movie studio, and put up a billboard in Times Square where it will blend in with hundreds of other ads. “You have to scream loud when you’re screaming,” says a marketing exec. Punching people’s heads off, blowing things up, ass kicking and fishing with exploding arrows looks cool and all, but we’ll just wait for the rental.

Sly-High Ad [NY Post]

The Calvin Klein billboard at Broadway and Lafayette Street looks different. For one, the models are wearing clothes. For two, it’s covered in paint for what appears to be a sly promotion of the New Museum on Bowery. That’s well and good. We just want to know what inspired this: the Splasher’s attack on the Vans x Neckface billboard up the street, the drippy Alife x Krink tees, or the time this billboard was actually nailed with paint.

Photo from Solis Company

A couple months ago, CW11/WPIX tapped some graffiti writers to put the final touches on billboards for Everybody Hates Chris, the Chris Rock sitcom based in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn. Though Faust did a fine job painting this pair on Franklin Street and Clifton Street, the TV station wasn’t too stoked about the straight up bombing some other graffiti writers did. If you’ve got photos of those other billboards, let us know.

The New York Times writes that the Neckface Vans billboard that got splashed earlier this month was replaced. Also, see how they so innocently drop Cam’ron’s line, “Go get your wet wipes,” in the lead paragraph.

Last time we checked the Oorah billboard in South Williamsburg, it was to note the digital graffiti and alterations making the boy look more Hasidic. We’ve checked again, and it looks like the boy has given up on the old look, and peeled off the digitally altered, more Hasidic looking face like some sort of party trick. According to a local, the new text in Hebrew Yiddish reads “Happy Purim.” Somebody in Williamsburg is having too much fun in Paint Shop Pro.

The Neckface and Vans billboard on Lafayette Street was recently hit with paint. Is nothing sacred anymore?

The military is hard up for new recruits. It’s no secret, but we were still stunned by this billboard in the Bronx featuring a guy crowd surfing at a show under the message, “This moment brought to you by the U.S. Navy.” In small text, it reads, “It is not for ourselves alone that we serve.” While we don’t support using party photos to lure naive persons into battle, we will suggest one improvement for: Ditch the stock photo and get with Moshzilla, the internet’s most famous skanking party monster. We even made a mock-up for you all.

A new billboard is popping up on top of 20 Jay Street in DUMBO. It has sightlines south to the Manhattan Bridge, like the neighboring billboard, as well as east to the BQE. It’s quite a bit bigger than that spot off the Williamsburg Bridge, so any interested parties should scale their work up a bit. For inspiration, check out the CutUp Collective or the Hood Rich rollers from yesterday. Just wait until the next open studio/gallery opening and make your way to the roof. Those roof alarm signs are almost always lying.

Continue reading: DUMBO Billboard: Available Immediately