The NFL team has stressed that the posters are not real.
The Philadelphia Eagles were the recent subject of a “counterfeit” political ad campaign for Democrat Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris.
Posters appeared around several bus stops in downtown Philadelphia over the Labor Day weekend depicting Harris’ profile wearing an Eagles helmet with the caption, “Kamala, official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles”. The posters also included a link to the Eagles website with information for first-time voters, polling locations, and guidelines on voter registration.
In an official statement on their X account, the NFL team said, “We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed.” Matt Cassidy with Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation Infrastructure Systems told CBS News that the city is looking at this as a vandalism incident and assured that the city is working closely with the ad company to have the illegally-placed ads taken down.
The posters are similar to others by street artist Winston Tseng, who said he likes to “use brands and advertising to communicate societal issues, hopefully bringing some unexpected attention to them in our daily lives” in a 2023 interview with Street Art News. A self-described “satirical street artist”, he has used Sesame Street characters in “doomsday messaging” posters about climate change. He also made a Ben & Jerry’s ad using President Joe Biden’s likeness with the caption “Rocky Road to Democracy” and included a link to Ben & Jerry’s voting website.
NBC Philadelphia reported seeing as many as six of the fictitious ads at bus shelters in the city. The bus shelters belong to Intersection Media, which made an official statement regarding the ads: “We are aware that several of our bus shelters located in Philadelphia have been vandalized and that the paid advertising copy in each of those shelters has been replaced with unauthorized copy…While our bus shelters have locks that typically prevent the installation of unauthorized copy by non-Intersection staff, occasionally people find a way to unlock the ad box and insert unauthorized copy.”
ABC Action News Philadelphia spoke to a few fans about the incident, including Mathilda Jones from Center City, who said, “It’s encoded in people’s brains, this picture of Kamala Harris with the Eagles. So, no matter what happens now, the psychological effect is there, it’s done.” Harry Rothstein from West Philadelphia pointed out, “If there’s actually an organization that is putting those signs up there could be a lawsuit.”
Another fan, Joe from South Philly, took matters into his own hands and covered one of the posters with printed copies of the Eagles’ statement on X denouncing them. He commented, “This person is lying to everyone who comes and uses this stop, that’s what I’m very concerned about. The fact that they’re spreading lies that the Philadelphia Eagles endorsed Kamala Harris as a candidate for President of the United States.”
