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Vandals deface BP’s Olympics billboard

A major billboard for BP, the official fuel and gas provider of the Olympics, was vandalized in London as part of a protest against environmental practices of the British petroleum company.

UPI reports some environmental groups are encouraging acts of "brand piracy," including spreading black oil paint on major billboards promoting the company's Olympic sponsorship. The six-paneled billboard above sits on Cromwell Road, a major traffic route in central London.

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Another billboard was tagged with the URL for f-ingthefuture, a website protesting BP's involvement with the Olympics. The name is a profane take on BP's "Fueling the Future" slogan.

"Organisers [sic] of the Olympics have decided to allow BP, one of the dirtiest companies on earth, the opportunity to rebrand itself as socially responsible and take an active role in proposing how society should approach climate change," the site's pointed critique begins.

BP is using the Games to try to rebuild its image after the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It plans to heavily promote its new biofuels in various advertisements.

"The London 2012 sponsorship has enabled us to get involved in a hugely positive event and put lots of energy into that," Mike Sharrock, the company's partnership director, told Business Week.

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