Carlsbad Art and Culture

A nationwide call to cover the night asked Invisible Children supporters to cover public walls with KONY 2012 themed flyers and other media in an act to bring attention to Joseph KONY’S inhumane actions towards children and to help restore LRA affected communities in East and Central Africa to peace.

On the night of April 20th supporters hit the streets with a variety of glossy colored flyers and black and white posters. Chalk messages were scribbled on beach-side benches, walls and sidewalks while most early morning walkers passed undeterred.

A thick dew slowly engulfed the coastal village causing the thin strips of tape to saturate with moisture and drop KONY branded material to the ground. Frantic chalk scribbles soon became illegible blurs of colored powder as the boardwalk flow thickened. Large KONY tags drew some attention, but the messages may have been tainted with the lack of creativity and effort.

The idea to use the streets to spread the word may have been a good idea. Hundreds of pedestrians travel the Carlsbad boardwalk each day and the village is often animated with activity, but a successful Guerilla campaign carefully walks the line between acceptable use and vandalism.

Did the Cover the Night Guerilla campaign error in their implementation of marketing material? Could they have exhibited more effort and creativity?

How could they have better used the streets to express their ideas?