Lennon film recycles his 1960s anti-war ads

In 1969, to protest the Vietnam war, John Lennon and Yoko Ono put up billboards in 11 cities that read, “War is over!” (See a photo of the London ad here.) Ads with the same headline are going up today in New York and on Aug. 15 in Los Angeles, but this time they have a commercial purpose: They’re ads for The U.S. vs. John Lennon, a documentary about the late Beatle’s anti-war activism. Lionsgate seems to feel ok appropriating Lennon’s concept here since the film has more of an explicit (left-wing) political message than, say, You, Me and Dupree.