PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — LED screens on roughly seven Oregon Lottery billboards were turned off at locations around the state after they were taken over by a mysterious furry animation this week.
Oregon Lottery spokesperson Melanie Mesaros told KOIN 6 News that LED screens designed to show the current Powerball Jackpot were affected in seemingly random locations, including billboards in Coos Bay, Albany and Portland between Aug. 12 and 14. Roughly four of the affected billboards were in the Portland area.
“We are working with our vendor to resolve an issue related to the digital display on our billboards,” Mesaros said.
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One of the affected billboards was recorded by Reddit user “ HanginWithMrPooper ” near the intersection of 68th Ave. and Halsey Street in Northeast Portland. Video of the billboard shows furry artwork of cats in a passionate embrace playing on the billboard’s LED screen.
Although the affected billboard seen in the video is owned by Meadow Outdoor Advertising and paid for by the Oregon Lottery, neither party was responsible for the unexpected art display, they said. Instead, the third-party vendor Daktronics, which operates the LED sign, was the source of the issue. Mesaros said that the Oregon Lottery contacted Daktronics about the issue and all of the billboards were restored on the night of Aug. 14.