Another outrageously sexist London Underground ad

via @JenniTrimlett

It seems to be the latest fad in transit advertising: 

1. Make outrageously sexist ad2. Revel in the attention3. Profit

 Why else would advertisers continue to post this rubbish, if not to get a reaction?

via @ella_sharp1

This campaign, as I saw it on Mirror, isn't "edgy" or clever; it's just more deliberate denigration of women for eyeballs and clicks.

So why am I contributing to the problem, by sharing it here? Because we need to change the conversation about this kind of advertising, and the public spaces it pollutes. This is especially timely because Transport for London has banned other ads, such as one for the play My Night With Reg,  and another for a Royal Academy of Arts exhibition on Lucas Cranach the Elder, because of artistic nudity.

This prudishness about the human body, combined with a "lad-mag" lack of sensitivity about gender issues, leads me to believe that Transport for London's advertising department is run by elderly men who have not been allowed to receive any other contact from the outside world since 1975.

I won't even talk about the brand behind these stupid ads. They're not worth my time or yours. But Transport for London needs to smarten the hell up, and develop some 21st century ad standards.

Theatrical ad banned from London Underground over bare man bum

My Night With Reg is a 1994 play about gay men in London during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. This poster, for the current revival revived at the Donmar Warehouse (and now the Apollo Theatre) was rejected by Transport for London for "male nudity," according to Pink News.

The poster, with a nude man holding the best rock album ever recorded, is a direct adaptation of the first edition cover of its book version.

In the past, Transport for London has been the subject of ridicule for its prudish advertising standards, once banning a poster for an exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts for showing a 16th century female nude by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Vancouver Transit Police apologize for victim-blaming ad

Another day, another ad campaign accused of blaming sexual assault victims. But this one has a positive lesson in it.

According to CBC, Vancouver Transit Police have agreed to remove this ad from Skytrain, following public complaints.

Transit Police spokesperson Anne Drennan stated that the victim-blaming was entirely unintentional, but added, "we see where they are coming from."

I work on campaigns like this, too, so I can see how this happened. The Copywriter was trying to use a clever turn of phrase, but didn't consider the unintended triggering of the word "shame" in the context. Neither did the client.

To their credit, however, Vancouver Transit Police have responded in a way that should be a teachable moment to other authorities creating campaigns that address the issue of sexual assault, either directly or indirectly.

First, they apologized with an acknowledgement that the wording could cause unintended harm. Then, they committed to removing the ads and replacing them with "new posters with wording approved by an advisory council that includes representatives from women's support groups."

Understand, apologize, fix the problem and show how you'll avoid it in the future. Is that so hard?

Islamophobic ad featuring Hitler says "stop racism"

Oh, that's rich.

This is just the latest PR stunt by "The American Freedom Defense Initiative" a rabidly anti-Islam group that insists every single Muslim is a radical bent on genocide.

This ad, according to the Washington Post, features Adolf Hitler talking to Haj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem who supported the Holocaust.

AFDI claim their ads are a response to "the vicious Jew-hating ads … unleashed on Washington DC Metro buses last month.” by American Muslims for Palestine:

The AMP ad, reminding Americans that some of their tax money goes to Israeli aid, it certainly politically charged. But it just doesn't seem quite as over-the-top as the response.

Perhaps all sides of religious conflicts should make an agreement not to judge each other by the acts of their worst zealots, or the bloodthirsty and weird writings of their ancestors. We can debate US foreign policy until we're red, white, and blue in the face, but the only sure way to lose the argument is to succumb to Godwin's Law.

On second thought, perhaps this "tap booty" ad conveys the wrong message...

Boston Magazine reports that the above ad, which appeared on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority vehicles, has been voluntarily removed by the advertiser.

Hollaback! Boston, the local chapter of an international anti-street-harassement organization, had complained to MBTA about the ad's appropriateness, especially in public spaces where sexual assault and street harassment happen frequently.

“We get stories constantly about groping incidents on trains,” said Britni de la Cretaz, co-site director of HollaBack! Boston. “The cartoonist made it super sexualized, and the reason I felt that was inappropriate is because a lot of people riding the trains have their butts touched without consent all the time.”

Ironically, Ms. de la Cretaz points out, the "Tapbooty" ads were appearing at the same time as MBTA was running its own anti-harassment campaign:

“I know in general [the T tries] to be good about talking about harassment and how it is not OK," she added. "Maybe they just didn’t even realize that’s what [the advertisement] looked like.”

Interestingly, both Tapbooty and Hollaback are in the apps business — Tapbooty as a "social games for fun & rewards" one, and Hollaback! with a tool to report, analyze and protect oneself from street harassment incidents.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Coming to a bus near you?

Vancouver's Skytrain has been put in the middle of a bloody political conflict that many Canadians would rather not talk about.

According to the CBC, this poster was placed by The Palestine Awareness Coalition on TransLink media in Greater Vancouver.

Here's their side of the story:

The realities of Palestinian land loss are on display in Vancouver, as a new series of transit ads has been posted at the Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain station and on 15 TransLink buses, on August 27, 2013. The ads, created by the Palestine Awareness Coalition, made up of seven Vancouver-area peace and justice groups, depict the “disappearance” of Palestine due to Israeli occupation over the past 66 years. 

“The goal of the advertising campaign is to make the Canadian public aware of Israel’s steady absorption of Palestinian territory from 1946 to the present day and the constant oppression that accompanies that occupation,” said Martha Roth of Independent Jewish Voices, one of the groups in the coalition. 

And here is another POV from the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver:

It is our assessment that these advertisements distort history, are malicious and essentially question the legitimacy of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. 

We believe it is no coincidence that this advertising campaign will coincide with the sacred holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. 

TransLink—the regional transit authority—has a clearly defined set of advertising policies and guidelines, which restrict the display of ads that make public transit unwelcoming for any ethnic or racial group—the appropriateness of which has been affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada. 

As the advocacy arm of Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, CIJA | Pacific Region has addressed this issue directly with TransLink—both with members of its Board and its Management—and has asked the transit authority to comply with its stated policies and withdraw its approval for the ads. 

TransLink has since confirmed that they have reviewed the matter and that they recognize the offensive and provocative nature of the advertisements. Despite our view that the advertisements contravene TransLink’s own policies, TransLink has decided to proceed with allowing the advertisements to be displayed. 

Public opinion toward Israel will not change as a result of these ads. Support for Israel locally, provincially and federally across the political spectrum has never been stronger.The objective of the sponsoring groups is clear: to gain publicity for their marginalized views, which fall outside of mainstream Canadian opinion. Countering these ads in the public domain (on buses, for example) would only raise the profile and lend credibility to these marginal groups. 

Our community is strengthened by its diversity of opinions and views. However, on the core issue of Israel’s right to exist as an independent Jewish state in peace and security – we stand together.

And here is TransLink's statement:

TransLink does not endorse nor advocate any position put forward by outside advertisers. In addition, as a public agency, TransLink's advertising policy cannot violate freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Freedom of expression is a protected right under the Charter. 

TransLink does not have the legal authority to deny ads as long as the ads comply with the Code of Canadian Advertising Standards, other laws such as the Human Rights Act and TransLink's Advertising Policy. This is in accordance with a 2009 Supreme Court of Canada decision that struck down the portion of TransLink's Advertising Policy that prohibited advocacy ads. 

The Disappearing Palestine ad was referred to the Canadian Advertising Standards office for review by Lamar (the contracted agency that oversees ad placements and buys on our transit system) prior to its placement. In addition, TransLink sought a third-party legal opinion about this ad with regard to the Canadian Charter. That legal advice noted the Supreme Court of Canada decided that TransLink is subject to the Charter in its role as the host of advertising. 

If TransLink accepts advertising, it must not restrict content, (i.e., the freedom of expression of its advertising customer or potential customer under Section 2(b) of the Charter) except in accordance with Section 1 of the Charter which makes all Charter Rights subject to "such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society." TransLink has been advised that no such "limit prescribed by law" would prohibit the Disappearing Palestine advertisement under TransLink's Advertising Policy, the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, or other applicable "law" such as the Human Rights Act. 

We appreciate that some advertisements on the transit system may cause concern for customers. However, our advertising policy is posted online and guides all advertising on TransLink property. Concerns about this ad - or any advertising on the transit system - can be referred to the Canadian Advertising Standards office. 

As a transparent public organization, we continue to uphold the laws of our country while we work to provide the best possible customer service. We hope concerned customers understand that within defined limits TransLink has no legal authority to decline advertising content.

So here we have three ways of looking at an ad. The Palestine Awareness Coalition was careful to keep it factual and historical/geographical, which got Code approval. The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver was correct in seeing the placement and timing as deliberately provocative and polarizing — but they provoked back harder by referring to the Palestinians as having "marginalized views". (As a messaging geek, I have to point out that they should have used "marginal" since "marginalized" implies deliberate attempts to push into obscurity.) TransLink is complying with the Charter, which overrules their own ad policy. What else can they do?

So, who's in the right? Here in Canada, where we'd rather not think about our own past of Protestant vs. Catholic, and English vs. French (not to mention European vs. Aboriginal) violence, it's always difficult when other imported conflicts cause divisions between friends  in our multicultural society.

 Let's just hope some constructive discussion comes out of this.

UPDATE: The campaign is planned to run in other Canadian cities as well.

I have no faith in this campaign

Adrants posted this item from an article on canada.com headlined, "Christ meets Big Foot: more irreverent atheist ads to hit Canadian cities":

All I can say is, "Jesus Christ, guys!"

The organization behind the campaign, which will hit Toronto streets after Xmas, had this to say:

"I'd love it if everyone saw the ads and know the point of the campaign is to emphasize not the kind of knee-jerk debunking to anything suspicious but that we're interested in a genuine debate, a conversation about so-called extraordinary claims. We're not here to mock people who believe in these claims."

Let me change my response to, "JESUS TAP-DANCING CHRIST ON A CRACKER!!!"

I was raised going to church. I stopped going to church. I changed from liberal Christian to agnostic (in the true sense of the word) while still respecting the role progressive Christian beliefs can play in filling a void in many people's lives.

I hate fundamentalism of any stripe and I despise totalitarianism, sexism, oppression, regression and hate perpetrated in the name of religion. But as an unbeliever, I also recognize those things as human flaws. If there are no Gods, then it's important to understand why people would want to do those things to each other.

I won't wax philosophical any more here, except to say that I find this campaign provocative in all the wrong ways. It's like one of those sarcastic trolls you see online who make nasty jokes for their own amusement — or at most, a small circle of like-minded douchebags. Talk about preaching to the choir.

But there was some salvation here, and it came from the very people the group was trying to offend: a church.

This isn't just any church. It's the largest Protestant congregation in Canada. And unlike its literalist and fatalist counterparts (especially in the U.S.!) The United Church of Canada is not treating the ad as a declaration of culture war, but lovingly providing a broader perspective.

Rev. Bruce Gregersen, UCC general council officer:

"Conversation is welcome and invitational to all people to think about the meaning of faith. It's a fair question that goes to the heart of what you count as proof. There are millions of people who have sense of the mysterious . . . deeper within our spirits...

"Our perspective is that Christ is able to stand in that kind of situation and not be ridiculed. Our belief about Christ is much bigger than anything related to Zeus, or psychics or homeopathy, so in that sense it's trivializing the nature of faith. On the other hand, it's not enough that I'd want to raise issues."

In fact, the UCC is all about questioning and discussing things. They've even made it part of their sect brand with Wondercafe, an open community for thought-provoking discussion. And one which was launched with ads like these:

(See the whole campaign at Osocio)

This was my church, and to some degree still is. Perhaps you can understand now why I am not as "angry with God" as the Centre for Inquiry.