Takeaway: It is always a good idea to seek permission before using the work of another artist in your advertising, even in the case of "street art."
H&M was in a dispute with a street artist over some graffiti they used in one of their advertising campaigns. H&M filed suit against the street artist in question alleging that the artist had no copyrights because his art was the result of criminal activity resulting in trespass and vandalism. Eventually H&M dropped the suit against the artist due to public backlash of their complaint.
This case is important because litigation surrounding infringement of graffiti is not a new issue and it could cause your business problems if you use graffiti in your advertising. There are drastically differing opinions when it comes to "graffiti" or "street art." Some people consider it to be a criminal activity and think it should be stopped. On the other hand, a growing number of younger generations find it to be artistic expression that should be protected.
Whatever side you are on in the debate, it will be important to consider the business ramifications of using graffiti in your advertising and you should probably seek permission before doing so. Otherwise you could either end up in a lawsuit, or sometimes even worse, offend the people in support of "street art" and lose substantial business from that demographic.
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