These footpath stickers--which have a more durable permanence that one might think--likely captures the evolution of 'styles' of business graffiti. That is, these stickers are an effective way to achieve the same goal of a spray-painted stencil, but its seemingly less permanent nature and photographic acuity perhaps better ensures viewers perceive it as legal "advertising" and not as illegal "graffiti"... It is still likely to be illegal (it is unlikely the Wellington Phoenix football club sought permission of the city council to place these stickers all around the central business district), but few people are likely to perceive it to be a kind of graffiti--it is effectively both "visible", yet in terms of its legality, "invisible". That said, some city councils have complained about this type of marketing and their illegal nature. One example is the Calgary City Council, who include "stickers" in their bylaw definition of graffiti:
"Graffiti includes words, drawings, or stickers applied to public surfaces in any way. It's against our Community Standards Bylaw. Property owners must remove or cover graffiti on their premises. Fines range from $150 for not removing graffiti to $5,000 for applying it."
https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/graffiti.html
TechCreate (an Irish digital learning and fabrication company specializing in marketing) promote a way around such complaints with the concept of "reverse graffiti", which is:
"…is a method of creating images or messages by cleaning dirt off surfaces, usually pavements or walls. Instead of adding paint or ink, you’re removing the dirt in a specific pattern — leaving behind a clean image or logo that stands out against the surrounding grime. It’s eye-catching, environmentally friendly, and — in most places — legally less problematic than traditional graffiti or posters"
https://techcreate.ie/reverse-graffiti-s...th-impact/
Another "legally less problematic" solution for marketers is using light projected images on footpaths (see this website's "Other" category--the photo from "Toronto, Canada"--for such an example).
The Wellington Phoenix photo was taken in May 2025.
"Graffiti includes words, drawings, or stickers applied to public surfaces in any way. It's against our Community Standards Bylaw. Property owners must remove or cover graffiti on their premises. Fines range from $150 for not removing graffiti to $5,000 for applying it."
https://www.calgary.ca/bylaws/graffiti.html
TechCreate (an Irish digital learning and fabrication company specializing in marketing) promote a way around such complaints with the concept of "reverse graffiti", which is:
"…is a method of creating images or messages by cleaning dirt off surfaces, usually pavements or walls. Instead of adding paint or ink, you’re removing the dirt in a specific pattern — leaving behind a clean image or logo that stands out against the surrounding grime. It’s eye-catching, environmentally friendly, and — in most places — legally less problematic than traditional graffiti or posters"
https://techcreate.ie/reverse-graffiti-s...th-impact/
Another "legally less problematic" solution for marketers is using light projected images on footpaths (see this website's "Other" category--the photo from "Toronto, Canada"--for such an example).
The Wellington Phoenix photo was taken in May 2025.
