Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions, or B.U.G.A.U.P. (" bugger up") is an Australian

subvertising Subvertising (a portmanteau of ''subvert'' and ''advertising'') is the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. The cultural critic Mark Dery coined the term in 1991. Subvertisements are anti-ads that def ...

artistic movement. It practices billboard hijacking using

détournement A détournement (), meaning "rerouting, hijacking" in French, is a technique developed in the 1950s by the Letterist International, and later adapted by the Situationist International (SI),''Report on the Construction of Situations'' (1957) that ...

or modification with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

of such billboard advertising that promotes something that is deemed unhealthy.

History

The movement started in inner-city

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in October 1979, later spreading to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. It has been active ever since, although its peak of activity was in the late 1970s and early-mid 1980s. Many of the members came from professional and university-educated backgrounds. A founding member was Bill Snow, who first started to alter tobacco billboards with graffiti, and continued to be active in anti- smoking and littering campaigns. Together, Bill Snow, Ric Bolzan and Geoff Coleman coined the acronym BUGAUP and began adding it to the altered billboards, to link the graffiti to a movement rather than the random activity of individuals. The movement aimed mainly at

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

and

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

advertising, often blanking out letters and adding others to promote their view that the product is unhealthy. Cola and soft drink ads were also targeted. The movement did not formalize itself as a group with memberships or meetings. Graffitists "joined" by signing the BUGAUP name to their work. BUGAUP graffiti spread rapidly across Australia and then overseas. Former

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

politician

Arthur Chesterfield-Evans Arthur Chesterfield-Evans (born 16 June 1950) is an Australian medical practitioner and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales from 1998 to 2007. Medical career Graduated MB BS Sydney, 1975; FRCS (Eng) ...

was a member of BUGAUP before entering politics.] Other well-known BUGAUP members were the late

Lord Bloody Wog Rolo Rolo Mestman Tapier (1 July 1945 – 3 December 2007) otherwise known as Lord Bloody Wog Rolo was an activist and colourful eccentric Sydney identity. He initially achieved notoriety for his anti-monarchist statements and activities and became ...

, Peter Vogel and Fred Cole.

Impact on tobacco advertising debate in Australia

The Cancer Council of Western Australia states that the BUGA-UP campaign of the mid 1980s "radicalised the advertising debate and made it suddenly more respectable for previously conservative medical associations and colleges to rattle the legislative cage". Former Daily News reporter Joanne Fowler states that prior to the BUGA-UP campaigns of the 1980s journalists were unwilling to publish articles critical of the tobacco industry because they were seen to be mundane. Almost all forms of tobacco advertising were made illegal in Australia in 1992.Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 (Cth)

External links

B.U.G.A. U.P. website

References

{{reflist
Civil Disobedience and Tobacco Control: The Case of BUGA UPB.U.G.A. U.P. : Autumn catalogue 1980, National Library of AustraliaBuga-up on Trial, National Library of Australia
* ttp://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/poster-boy-for-radical-protest-20090315-8yvm.html/ "Fred Cole", Sydney Morning Herald, 16 March 2009br>"BUGA-UP interview", How to Make Trouble and Influence People, 2009"BUGA UP – You've come a long way, baby", Overland, 23 August 2012
Australian fringe and underground culture Graffiti in Australia Anti-consumerist groups Culture jamming Culture of Sydney Anti-smoking activists 1979 establishments in Australia

History

Impact on tobacco advertising debate in Australia

See also

External links

References