If you want a metaphor to describe everything that is going wrong in our society, look no further than this. Imitating street art – even as it replaces real street art – for advertisement is quite simply a violation.

The advertising industry does not seem to recognise that there are some lines it just should not cross. It tends to co-opt and demean everything that has true value in our society, from relationships to spirituality, in order to fulfill the desire of its clients, to sell us more stuff.

We’ve become accustomed to the huge billboards that hang on skyscrapers and glare at us from freeways. But companies and their advertisers have now gone beyond the pale by starting to undermine the very artistic movement that challenges the consumerist culture they create.

The large 1960s style psychedelic image of a bottle of Perrier includes the hashtag #streetartperrier. Let’s hope that more people take the time to give them some constructive feedback, such as the environmental campaigner L Hunter Lovins, who tweeted “fake street art sucks”.

I was initially surprised by the strength of my reaction to these murals, but I understand it now. They represent, for me, something that has become a sickness in our society and must be challenged.

Companies and the advertising industry need to wake up and understand the simple truth – that what defines us are our limits and there are some spaces where they should fear to tread.

Carry on, if you must, plastering outdoor posters, bus stops, shop windows, subway stations and the like with your false promises. But at the very least, give us back our streets.