All Justin Bieber's promotional team wanted to do in San Francisco was promote his new album "Purpose," but when they did so by plastering the city's sidewalks with graffiti, they only upset the city's residents.
Locals were not happy to see the "Justin Bieber Purpose #Nov13" graffiti in several San Francisco neighbourhoods, according to the Daily Mail UK.
They think that the graffiti was an eyesore. What's worse is that the city would have to shoulder the costs of its removal. According to the SF Gate, the city spends over $20 million just to remove graffiti on its sidewalks and other public areas every year.
Social media users criticised Bieber and his team for what they regard as their thoughtless promotional act.
Bieber's team claimed they got the San Francisco city government's permission to promote his album in such a manner, but the San Francisco Public Works office denied it.
"We don't allow advertising on our sidewalks. Our sidewalks are not billboards," said San Francisco Public Works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon. "It's essentially advertising on our public property, which is against the law."
Bieber was not the only one who earned the ire of San Francisco residents using ill-conceived promotional stunts. Companies such as NBC Universal and Lyft made the same violations in the past and had to pay thousands of dollars to the city to remove their marketing and promotional campaigns on city property.
Back in 2013, Bieber was also charged with "defacing a building or urban monument by graffiti or other means" when he wrote "Beliebers4Life" in a hotel wall in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. He was reportedly allowed to "tag" a different location, but chose to do it instead in the hotel to avoid being overrun by fans.
