Vandalism or advertising? Here's the story behind the 'graffitied' Morgan & Morgan signs

If you have driven down a major Georgia street, there's a good chance you've seen a billboard advertising Morgan & Morgan Law Firm. Many look like they have been graffitied — but there is more to this story than meets the eye.

The billboards in question look fairly normal, with printed messages like "America's Largest Injury Law Firm" and "For the People," the firm's slogan. Except in several cases, it appears someone has spray painted them, crossing out certain words and adding others so the billboards read, "For the Money" or "Chase the People."

Sightings have been reported in multiple cities including Augusta, Savannah and Athens. So who is the mystery tagger defacing so many billboards? It's actually Morgan & Morgan itself.

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Representatives with Lamar Advertising, an agency that rents billboards to Morgan & Morgan, said the law firm intentionally puts the signs up that way.

"They are on purpose and they are immensely effective," representatives said in a phone interview. "We get two or three calls a week from people telling us that the board has been vandalized. We then have the opportunity to talk about our business and the great creative that our client has used."

While Morgan & Morgan only started working with Lamar Advertising in Augusta on July 31, the ad agency confirmed Morgan & Morgan has similar billboards placed in other markets including: Valdosta, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Tampa, Ocala and Fort Myers.

This isn't the first time the firm has employed this unique tactic. Morgan & Morgan 'graffitied' several of its own billboards in 2015. But while these were made to look more defamatory, those celebrated local sports teams.

Officials in Savannah and Athens confirmed that they have not investigated these seeming 'incidents.' Savannah Police also confirmed their knowledge of the billboards being a marketing strategy. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office did not respond to inquiries about the firm's ads.

The Augusta Chronicle could not reach Morgan & Morgan for comment, but the firm has responded to other news outlets regarding this issue and consistently provided the following statement: "We take this very seriously, we are investigating and exploring all of our options."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Morgan & Morgan billboard graffiti is marketing tactic, not vandalism