Starbucks, in order to promote its holiday campaign, apparently projected an ad on Grand Central Terminal last Saturday night. And of course, that made some people unhappy, raising questions about whether or not projections should be allowed on historic buildings. Starbucks' ad agency Wieden & Kennedy tasked guerilla marketing agency Neverstop to use their stealth vans to project ads - plus give out cards for free Tarbucks coffee as the van roamed the city. amNewYork says Metro-North was unhappy about the ad when they learned about it, but the Department of Buildings says permits are only needed when "something solid is placed on a building." Which isn't to say that the DoB might not reconsider later. Maybe the MTA needs to program Grand Central Terminal with perpetual projection art (they have art inside) on the exterior in order to combat corporations looking for an extra way in. Or they can raise Starbucks' rent inside Grand Central.
amNew York gives Neverstop's Nasir Rasheed the last word: "You have to change with the changing landscape. When the authorities enact with new laws, than the guerilla has to react, that's what this game is all about." True that - like the Sony graffiti?
