A bad media plan can lead to more problems than merely a missed target, a Chicago man found last week.
Ali Morsy pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property and possession of spray paint after he was caught in April painting a marketing message from IBM on city sidewalks.
The marketing ploy was deemed a crime by police and the courts, so Morsy will be doing 30 months of community service for Chicago's Streets and Sanitation Department and will spend a year under court supervision.
It's a fairly stiff sentence for a marketing plan that went awry when business owners complained about the spray painted peace signs, hearts and penguins, meant to represent "Peace, love and Linux," that marred local walkways.
The spray painting was part of a guerrilla marketing campaign for IBM that caused trouble in San Francisco as well.