Subvertising

Reccies
Like any action, it’s well worth doing a reccy before you actually get on with the task. Among the things to consider are whether there are any CCTV cameras near the site or on route to the site. There probably are cameras but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t got ahead with the action as you can simply mask up, do it at night, wear disposable clothes, avoid facing the camera etc.

Other things to look out for are places you can be observed from, places to position lookouts, likely approaches for cops, escape routes, objects that could be used to stand on, or places you could leave/hide/collect a ladder from.

The team
Ideally your team will have a minimum of five people. That includes one person doing the pasting/painting and another person to provide support, eg. hold ladder, pass up tools/materials. It’s also good to have at least two look outs with some form of communication to the support person.

Billboard ads
Generally billboards come in two standard sizes. They usually mounted by the side of road with the bottom of the advert at about head height but they are often also mounted up high on the side of buildings.
Some billboard ads are not paper, they are printed vinyl. These may be standard sizes but they can also be custom sizes occupying the whole of a building.

Bus shelter ads
These adverts measure about 5ft by 4ft. They are in frames behind perspex and normally back lit at night. The frames are locked and require a special ‘key’. In the UK the key is usually similar to a skip key but with a longer shaft. However this may vary from area to area depending on the company that manage them.
Once you know how to open the frames you can either do the subvert there and then or take the poster home with you to modify in your own good time.
Poster ads on tube station platforms are much easier to target but CCTV cameras are everywhere so take that into account.

Tubes and train ads
The adverts on the trains can usually be removed from their frames so you can take them home to work on them at your own pace. You can do great stuff with nothing more than some coloured pens and some tipex. Scissors, paper, glue and a colour printer add many more possibilities.
The tube ads are a little wider than two landscape sheets of A4 paper. The train ones are just as long but half the height.
For quick subvertising, stickers are very good. Stickers cut out as speech bubbles can be used on a wide range of adverts to great effect.

Other types of subvert include spoof newspapers and Logo/Brand parodies. These are beyond the scope of this guide.

Techniques / Tools

Spray Paint
Quick and dirty but effective. Spray cans rarely result in a subtle subvert but that doesn’t mean they are not effective. It’s often possible to spray up the bottom of a bill board without needing to climb on anything but since the messages tend to go at the bottom you might need to go higher. This can be done by standing on a handy object (see street ladders) but you can also use a device which provides a long reach handle for spray cans.

Paint brush / roller
While these can be used for your whole subvert, they’re probably more often used to cover larger parts of the original design which you want removed.

Stencils
When you just need a few extra letters or a smallish additional graphic, stencils can be a useful technique. If you make them well then you can use them again and again.

A4/A3 print outs
For subtle and professional looking subverts you can match the font used and print onto A4 (or blow up onto A3) and stick these onto the advert. This is really effective when the advert is black text on a white background. Sometimes you can find coloured paper that is a close match for other backgrounds. If you have access to a colour laser printer which you don’t have to pay for then you could produce any font/background colour (don’t waste your time trying to use inkjet type printers).

Cut out letters
When you want professional looking fonts printed in colours other than black and on backgrounds other than white then you can use cut out letters. Basically you print the outline of the letters so they can be cut, but print either on coloured paper of paint the paper once it is cut. The letters can either be stuck directly to the advert or onto your own paper first.

Paper rolls
Putting your letters onto rolls of paper makes it much easier and quicker to apply to the advert. You can use wallpaper and it can be chosen or painted to colour match with the original advert or to deliberately contrast. Unrolling and glueing may require two people and it’s hard to manage up a ladder.

Projection
This somewhat hi-tech approach is really only applicable to very short term stunts. Using a computer programmed laser projector or high power video projector, you can add some extra words or graphic up onto large adverts. This would only work at night and you’d need power but it could be extremely effective in some high profile locations with large numbers of people present to witness it – perhaps at sporting or cultural events.

Access / Street Ladders
Often you will need something to stand on to reach the necessary parts of the advert. Sometimes you can find something suitable nearby, like a wheelie bin or a pallet (stood on their side they can make a handy street ladder for a few extra feet). However you might need to take your own ladder.

Day or Night
There are two schools of thought on whether naughty things should be done at night or in broad daylight. Sometimes you a far less visible donning a hi-vis jacket and being brazen about things rather than skulking around in the dark trying not to be seen. Your options may be dictated by the location or by the preferences or the availability of your team.