Billboard Liberation Front Strikes in San Francisco

As folks started to assemble in the park, the only clue you would have had that people weren't just there to smoke some pot and form a drum circle were all the cameras. And, of course, the clowns -- but we've come to expect such things here in San Francisco. They were being filmed by a documentary team from LA, photographed by Scott Beale, and questioned by stringers for the SF Weekly and the New York Times. Artists involved with the project were also on hand.

A security team crouched over a satellite image of the neighborhood, and shortly after left the scene carrying concealed walkie talkies with earpieces to stay in contact around the perimeter. The level of planning and professionalism surrounding the event was remarkable. Scott pointed out that some of the crazier stunts that the Billboard Liberation Front had pulled in the past were out of the question these days: "Well, after 9/11, you can't do this kind of thing anymore." But daylight, urban apathy and a healthy dose of 'seeming official' is all the cover the BLF needs.

We staked out a spot across the street from the Cala Foods, where a pair of recently cleared Viacom billboards towered over the parking lot. We were told to watch for a 'white econo van,' and in a few minutes one pulled into the parking lot right underneath the billboard. The Viacom logo was stenciled on the side, and as the 'liberators' got to work, we realized that it would have been easy to mistake them for actual employees just installing a new advertisement.


The new graphic went up quickly, and in about twenty minutes was done. On the left was a corpulent Ronald, on the right a sweaty blue alien, and in the middle were the golden arches with "To Serve Man" written across them in bold black letters. The piece de resistance were when a foam and plaster cherub and a menacing Ronald McDonald were set at the base of the billboard. The team had prepared an electrical outlet earlier, and after plugging Ronald in, had a fantastic animatronic of a scary corporate clown reaching to feed the gaping maw of a little fatty.

One spectator who knew his Twilight Zone explained the joke to us [MP3] as a crowd of onlookers began to gather. That's when the crowd of clowns decended on the scene and began praying to the billboard, posing for media, and began to get the word out that McDonalds was just so happy to be celebrating their 50th anniversary. One clown, decked out with a rubber chicken and toy chainsaw, eagerly endorsed Chicken McNuggets [MP3].


Hungry after all that billboard liberating, the clowns descended upon the nearby franchise, moaning for cheeseburgers and then singing happy birthday [MP3]. That, of course, is when the cops showed up -- probably after getting a call from the restaurant's manager (who had no comment for the press) or the manager over at Cala (who was not happy about the large crowd congesting his parking lot). They asked the clowns step outside and send in a delegation to order the food [MP3]. As one patron pointed out, "They have specific procedures for making fries, but they don't have a contingency plan for something like this."



Once outside, the cops asked to speak to the 'leader' of the clowns, who professed to just being there because they "saw it on the internet." "We're a flashmob," they protested. After a bit, one clown volunteered to speak to the officers, but after stepping back inside the store, was immediately accused of being the ringleader [MP3] and responsible for the altered billboard (she was neither). Then the sergeant (badge #1742) tried to get her to implicate someone else. She pleaded that they were just here to celebrate, "Don't you know it's Ronald McDonalds birthday?" The cop shot back, "But you don't have Ronald McDonalds' corporation approval."


That's when two other officers (badges #813 and #1953) turned and started questioning us. "We're with the press," we explained. "Do you have a press pass?" they asked. Well, no, but since when is it illegal to stand around and take notes while someone's being interviewed by the police? We gave the officer our email, and he asked us to wait and went back outside, but when we asked the other officer if we were being held, she said no, so we left. A little ways down the street, the first officer called after us, and proceeded to ask us for our identification and took down our name, address and phone number.

While the clowns got cleaned up at Murio's Trophy Room and ate some hard-earned McDonalds french fries, a fire engine and a lot more cops showed up at Cala and took down the sculptures. The crowd laughed as Ronald was loaded into a paddy wagon. Then they had to adjust him, since the happy customer was too fat to fit in there with him. They did not, however, take down the rest of the billboard -- it had been put up with 3M spray bond, and after all, it's the property owner's responsiblity to clean up graffitti.


The crew of clowns then headed down to the Zeitgeist to celebrate (it was Scott Beale's birthday, too!). Artist Ron English (featured in "Pop-Aganda" at the recent SF Doc Fest) was in town, fellow BLF veteran Jack Napier dropped by, and man-about-town Steven Raspa was there to share drinks and trade stories. As far as SFist knows, the billboard is still there, though probably not for long. But we were happy to have gotten a chance to see it in all its glory.