5.19.2006

Air Force One Tagged?

I was astounded, to say the least, to find out that some graffiti artist was able to tag Air Force One. It's pretty interesting video, depicting Marc Ecko (and friends) leaping fences and spray painting the words "Still Free" on the engine of the aircraft. His site, StayFree.com, also features an "explanation" of why he did the feat, which is a long-winded quasi-political (and incoherent) rant about freedom of speech and art.

However, it all turns out this was nothing more than a clever marketing hoax (probably for his graffiti-based video game Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure):

The pranksters responsible for the grainy, two-minute Web video — employed by a New York fashion company — revealed how they pulled it off: a rented 747 in California painted to look almost exactly like Air Force One.

"I wanted to do something culturally significant, wanted to create a real pop-culture moment," said Marc Ecko of Marc Ecko Enterprises. "It's this completely irreverent, over-the-top thing that could really never happen: this five-dollar can of paint putting a pimple on this Goliath."

Ecko acknowledged that his company had rented a 747 cargo jet at San Bernardino's airport and covertly painted one side to look like Air Force One. Employees signed secrecy agreements and worked inside a giant hangar until the night the video was made. Ecko declined to say how much the stunt cost.

"It's not cheap," he said. "You have to be rich."

posted by brian at 12:44 PM | Permalink

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