Font-savvy vandal strikes in Cd'A

COEUR d'ALENE — A north-facing McDonald's billboard on Lakewood Drive and Northwest Boulevard has fallen victim to a sneaky vandal with a keen eye for font types.

But this vandal's handiwork didn't escape the sharp eyes of Press photographers.

A Press photographer captured the image of the billboard on Tuesday afternoon. The advertisement reads, "Death is back. Own it." It is supposed to read, "Value is back. Own it."

"They do it just to get a rise out of everyone, just to say, 'Look what I did,'" said Dave Wood, a sales account executive for Lamar Advertising, the Spokane-based company that manages billboards across the region.

The vandal used a font quite similar to the original ad, which is made of lightweight vinyl that is easily replaced, Wood said.

"There are a lot of talented artists out there and they do try to show their art," Wood said. "Some of those boards aren't lit. There's no way you can monitor them 24/7."

In his nearly 16 years with Lamar, Wood said he can't remember a sign in Coeur d'Alene being vandalized. He said it's usually billboards in the downtown Spokane area that are targeted, even ones in difficult places to reach such as freeway overpasses.

"I don't know how, but they do it somehow," he said. "A lot of people just like to see their handiwork."