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Spike Lee attends the German premiere of 'BlacKkKlansman'

Source: Uwe Geisler/Future Image/WENN.com / WENN

The New York Police Department paid Spike Lee a reported $200,000 for an advertising campaign aimed at building a stronger link between the NYPD and communities of color. The connection was obviously curious as the Brooklyn native and director has been critical of the police in times past.

New York Post reports:

The department tapped the “Do the Right Thing” director in 2016 as a consultant for the campaign, a spokesman for the department’s nonprofit New York City Police Foundation confirmed Thursday.

The contract with Lee’s advertising firm, Spike DDB, was for $219,113 — which was paid for by the Police Foundation.

“The Foundation approached and consulted several creative teams including the Spike DDB agency to help develop a public awareness campaign that would aim to strengthen the partnership between the NYPD and the communities it serves,” said spokesman Brady Littlefield. “We received tremendous input and ideas, and that process ultimately resulted in last spring’s neighborhood policing ad campaign.”

While the department didn’t actually bury the fact it worked with Lee given that the tax filings from 2016 and 2017 showed the payment and are public records, it certainly didn’t promote the fact it worked with the famed filmmaker either.

Photo: WENN

NYPD Hit Spike Lee Off With $200K For Ad Campaign  was originally published on hiphopwired.com