TTC Yanks NOW’s "obscene" ads

Reproduced from NOW Toronto’s News in Brief.

The TTC decided to tear down large blank NOW ads with pens attached that encouraged riders to “Speak Your Mind” last week because A) the billboards were laced with profanities, B) riders were influenced by them to deface other city property, or C) it depends on who you talk to. The answer is C.

According to Yvonne Gibson, director of marketing at Urban Outdoor Trans Ad, which places TTC ads, “There was some language on it that the TTC was concerned about, some obscenities like ‘Fuck off’ and ‘Shit’ — pardon my language — and weird things like ‘We’re all going to die.’”

The TTC admits it didn’t receive any complaints about the NOW ads, but “We have a zero-tolerance policy on graffiti,” says TTC marketing department spokesperson Bob Brent.

NOW executive editor and CEO Alice Klein isn’t buying it. “It’s crazy that companies can run ads that are intended to manipulate peoples’ desires,” she says, “but we can’t buy space to allow people to express their own.”