That Skullphone billboard hack we saw yesterday had everyone at Engadget HQ pretty impressed with the corporate-pranking hijinks. Too bad it turns out that Skullphone is actually a phony (and total buster, we might add) who had to pay The Man (aka Clear Channel) cold hard cash to "glitch up" the digital billboards. According to Curbed LA (and our reliable tipsters / commenters), Skullphone paid the massive media conglomerate for one-day Los Angeles-wide ads -- there was no hacking involved at all. From now on, he should just leave the signage-goofing to the pros, or at least make it clear there's some money changing hands. Fool us once, shame on you... and... we won't get fooled again.

[Thanks, Dakota]

We've gotten pretty used to seeing crashed digital billboards and signage dot the landscape, but just like regular billboards, what's really interesting is when the graffiti artists manage to get their own messages up on the big (big) screen. Looks like Clear Channel is the latest victim - 10 LA-area billboards owned by the media giant started displaying the logo of 18-year-old graffiti artist Skullphone last Thursday, slotted innocuously within the regular ad rotation. Sure, it's not quite at the anarcho-political level of the Billboard Liberation Front and their ilk, but every great leap begins with just a small step, no? Hit the read link for tons more photos.

[Via Textually.org]

Kiss front man Gene Simmons, makeup-wearing progenitor of high-brow fare such as Rock And Roll All Nite, Plaster Caster, and Love Gun, as well as star of the intellectual gem Gene Simmons Family Jewels has a message for file sharing aficionados out there: you deserve to be sued. Or, as Gene subtly puts it to Billboard while discussing college student's downloading habits, "Every freshly-scrubbed little kid's face should have been sued off the face of the earth." When asked about Radiohead and Trent Reznor's recent forays into new online distribution methods, our man Simmons retorts, "I open a store and say 'Come on in and pay whatever you want.' Are you on f*cking crack? Do you really believe that's a business model that works?" We don't know Gene, but we can't wait to download your new record.

[Via Digg]

Sure, we've seen a plethora of interactive billboards before, but Mark Ecko's (credit to Benjamin Busse) latest eye-catcher could seriously make you miss your ride. This brilliantly designed ad sports an LCD that can be painted up by your Bluetooth cellphone, as it allows passers to use their mobile as a spray can to decorate the screen as they please. No word on whether this thing accepts multiple connections or not, but a tagging duel would be mighty fine entertainment whilst waiting on the next bus.

[Via AdGoodness, thanks John]

Interactive billboards and advertisements have been (trying) to catch our eyes for some time now, but a team of Swedes are apparently hoping that adding speech abilities might convince you to take an even closer look. The Paper Four project has reportedly developed a prototype digital paper that uses embedded sensors to detect touch, and when you graze over a certain spot, it actually talks back to you via "printed speakers." Now in the fourth generation of development, the device combines paper with "printed graphic codes and electronically conductive ink that is sensitive to pressure," and it is already being showcased as a way to invite tourists or other customers to get up close and personal with ads in order to hear auditory information. Best of all, the team has hosted up a video showing exactly how this stuff works, so do yourself a favor and hit the read link to catch a peek.

[Via BBC]

If there was ever a slick way to get folks to willingly carry around an RFID tag, MINI USA has it all wrapped up. Catering to every person's egotistical side, MINI has begun a pilot advertising campaign in Chicago, New York, Miami, and San Francisco, which gives select Cooper owners the chance to get an RFID keyfob in the mail, and moreover, a reason to consistently drive under MINI billboards. Users can select a custom message to be encoded on their RFID chip, and when they cruise near an overhanging MINI billboard, their particular message lights up for the world (or at least nearby motorists) to see. Of course, we're sure messages will be edited before delivery, and you still need to be down with toting a homing signal around with you each time you cruise, but let's face it, the mastermind behind this ad campaign probably got the raise we all wanted, but didn't come close to. So if you're a MINI owner in one of the four lucky cities, keep a keen eye on that inbox, and word on the street is that MINI USA is planning on hitting up more cities if (read: when) this proves to be a smash hit.

[Via Slashdot]

In a patent filing Google has revealed that it is looking into entering the physical advertising industry. The patent filing itself alludes to placing adverts on billboards, with the primary innovation being that they're interactive and connected to the internet -- what, you didn't really believe that Google would go in for static ads did you? The system apparently works by only advertising products that are available and in stock within stores in the local area. Stores will be able to buy advertising on these local electronic billboards through a similar system to how AdSense currently works: by logging into a computer and buying them. One of the key positive developments -- at least for busy consumers -- is that once stock of the product has run out, the advertised project on display automatically switches onto the next one that's in stock. This whole project relies greatly on there being adequate infrastructure for Google to make a return (which obviously isn't a problem when it comes to the internet), so this patent is far from an assurance that you'll be seeing "Ads by Goooooogle" reminding you to pick up some milk from your local 7-Eleven any time soon.

[Via SmartMobs]

Considering our everyone's infatuation with everything LED is fairly evident, we couldn't help but stop and stare at a Canadian billboard sporting no fewer than 1,500 LED lights, all brightly shining to spread some holiday cheer. But the method to the madness is what's important here, as this particular poster had no direct contact with an AC outlet, and reverted to getting its juice from some 120 pedal-pushing volunteers instead. The DDB/Vancouver project was lit for five consecutive days on behalf of BC Hydro, and was setup to display just how efficient LED lighting really is. According to BC Hydro, the same amount of wheel-turning energy would've only lit up 120 incandescent bulbs, which would've left Rudolph a bit dimmer than expected. The only thing missing, however, was a government-employed robot to crank out a few more miles once the humans went home for the holidays.

[Via OhGizmo]

Advertising agencies are trying everything from window shopping to fiber-optic cement walls to LEDs outlining a building in order to catch the ever-wandering eye of the consumer. The Leo Burnett agency, a graphical genius of sorts, has its latest breakthrough concept plastered on a Max Factor cosmetic billboard. The pictured woman sports finely groomed eyelashes when kept dry, but rainy weather creates black runs akin to real life scenarios to presumably suggest that ladies should make haste in picking up the run-resistant flavor of makeup. So if you're trying to focus on important things like pedestrians and oncoming traffic while cruising through a torrential downpour, just make sure to not point and stare too awfully long.

[Via Core77]