The How to Train Your Dragon Ad That Got a Man Arrested

Here's a new term for you: supergraphics. Those are the ads that wrap around buildings and skyscrapers, often spanning dozens of stories and covering hundreds of windows in vinyl. With the Academy Awards coming up this weekend, supergraphics near the Kodak Theatre are suddenly of paramount importance (since they might appear in news coverage of the area), and thus, we have this How to Train Your Dragon supergraphic that just went up at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland, which houses the Kodak. One problem, though: These things are now totally illegal.

The city of Los Angeles has actually managed to do something right for once, banning supergraphics and pursuing legal action against the man who defied their instructions to put up the one touting the latest 3D cartoon. 49-year-old Kayvan Setareh was arrested Friday night for masterminding the supergraphic and ordered held on an utterly massive million-dollar bail. "Some law enforcement observers voiced surprise at the large bail amount, saying $1 million is typically used in far more serious cases, such as homicide, rape and kidnapping," wrote the LAT. Yes, well!

Let this be a lesson to you, Los Angeles entrepreneurs: If there's anything you can take away from the recent failure of the Hummer brand and the banning of supergraphics, it's that Southern California is finally putting the hammer down on hideous, gigantic eyesores. Oh, also: If the city tells you not to put up an eight-story supergraphic, and you put it up anyway like a sneaky person, it will probably get noticed, on account of it being eight stories tall.

Businessman held on $1-million bail in supergraphic case [LAT, pic via WOW]