Melbourne advertising agency Apparition Media has been forced to apologise to residents of Sydney's inner west, after it painted over an iconic Newtown mural with a promotional ad for Jennifer Lawrence's upcoming movie Mother!
The agency, which creates outdoor murals for brands, came under fire from locals for defacing the prominent ‘It's like a jungle sometimes’ artwork, which has been long-featured on a heritage-listed building on Enmore Road.
The ad for the upcoming Paramount Pictures film, which was painted at the weekend, was quickly covered in protest graffiti saying: "No respect".
After receiving complaints from locals, the Inner West Council said it "did not approve the advertisement" and the matter was being investigated.
https://twitter.com/DDsD/status/904946578548342784
In a Facebook post responding to the backlash, Apparition Media apologised for its "ignorance".
"Hey Newtowners, let's just start by saying we're sorry to you all and you've been heard loud and clear," the agency wrote in the post.
Apparition has said it will work with the original artist to restore the original mural while also using "this opportunity to raise money for a local charity of the artist's choice to raise awareness around youth suicide".
The agency has created murals for big brands including Coca-Cola, Village Roadshow and Vans.
When AdNews contacted Apparition to discuss the backlash, the agency responded saying: "Steven Seagal is far too busy fighting crime, winning hearts and generally fly kicking people to respond to your email. Chuck Norris will be in touch shortly."
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