NEW ORLEANS, March 31 (UPI) -- A spokesman from Coca-Cola said it would quickly remove ads that were illegally sprayed on sidewalks in New Orleans.
The ads appeared overnight n advance of the Final Four national college basketball championship games, The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Saturday.
They provoked a furor throughout the city, the newspaper said.
City officials are "looking into citations," for the ads that have annoyed shopkeepers and pedestrians, said an aide to City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer, whose district includes downtown areas where the ads appeared.
"We're moving expeditiously to remove them," said Kel Villarrubia, a Coke spokesman, who said the ads were not authorized by the company.
"We very much respect the integrity of our historic districts in New Orleans," Villarrubia said.
The newspaper said the name of the ad agency responsible is still unknown, but that classified ads posted on CraigsList were found recruiting "street artist(s) to assist with sidewalk stencils for well known beverage company.
"We will be placing these stencils without city permission and will be placed near Final Four trafficked areas," the classified ad says.
One ad offered $600 for spraying 40 stencils at $15 apiece, while another offered $600 for 120 advertisements over a three-night spree of sidewalk spraying.
The ads were not spray-painted. Instead, they used a form of chalk that can be sprayed -- chalk frequently used at construction sights for temporary signs.
Coke has sent out crews to power-wash the ads away. Normally, at construction sites the chalk spray remains visible for about 30 days.
