San Francisco Takes on Justin Bieber Over Sidewalk Graffiti

Finally! A news story featuring both San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Justin Bieber.

The Bieb and his record label have drawn the ire of Herrera over a guerrilla marketing campaign that plastered ads for his new album on sidewalks around the city. Residents have been complaining on social media and filing complaints with city officials for weeks.

Unlike other recent sidewalk marketing campaigns that used chalk, these ads were applied with permanent spraypaint and have already survived several rainstorms. The city spends $20 million in taxpayer dollars each year to remove graffiti.

San Francisco is now demanding cooperation from Bieber's record label and distribution company, Def Jam Records and Universal Music Group, to punish those responsible.

Herrera has vowed to "aggressively pursue all available penalties and costs from those responsible for lawless marketing tactics," he said in a written statement.

San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru was also critical. "Our sidewalks in San Francisco are not canvases for corporate advertising, and we have made that clear," he said in the news release. "Yet these guerrilla marketers believe they are above the law when it comes to blighting our city and we will take a strong stand against them."

A photo of the graffiti posted on Reddit two weeks ago is accompanied by the headline: "Worst. Haight graffiti. Ever."

Herrera's office has successfully resolved similar violations over the years with corporations like IBM, NBC Universal, Turner Broadcasting and Zynga. In previous cases, those responsible for sidewalk graffiti ads have been fined and made to compensate taxpayers for removal.