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Controversial advertising in Toronto

Johnny Au

Johnny Au

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In and around Toronto, there are advertisements for media that are considered controversial.

A few years ago, there was a billboard ad for a radio station with the "Shirt on: OMG. Shirt off: OMFG." It was pulled down, as the latter's acronym suggests a copulating deity.

Taken from adstandards.com:

Clause 14: Unacceptable Depictions and Portrayals
Advertiser: Virgin Radio
Industry: Media
Region: Ontario
Media: Out-of-home
Complaint: 8, plus a petition with 100 signatures
Description: An out-of-home advertisement for a radio station featured a musical star – Usher, with the tagline “Shirt On: OMG. Shirt Off: OMFG.”
Complaint: The language used in the advertisement was highly offensive and contravened standards of public decency.
Decision: Council understood that the acronym “OMFG” is commonly used by the youth demographic targeted by the Usher advertisement. However, the context and the content of the advertisement and the audience actually, or likely to be reached by the advertisement and the medium used to deliver the advertisement are relevant factors that must be taken into account in assessing conformity with the Code. To Council, it crossed the line of acceptability under the Code to use this acronym in an out-of-home advertisement to which persons of all ages, religious beliefs and sensitivities are exposed. Council therefore, found that the advertisement displayed obvious indifference to conduct or attitudes that offended standards of public decency prevailing among a significant segment of the population.
Appeal: On an appeal by the advertiser, the original decision of Council was confirmed.
Infraction: Clause 14(d).

There are also advertisements within the past few years for horror movies, over-the-top action films, popular first-person shooter games, and popular wide area sandbox games. These are found in billboards, bus shelters, info stands, and on the side of buses.

See here for an example from a few years ago: http://www.thestar.com/entertainmen...olent-video-game-ads-pulled-from-bus-shelters
 
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No doubt about that, TTM.

Some things get more attention than others, hence the nature of this thread. There are many much more offensive ads that do not receive complaints to AdStandards, yet, the Usher ad does and is one of the more milder ads. AdStandards have double standards.
 
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RC8 said:
Virgin Radio is basically an anti-cultural entity in everything it does. I happened to start this petition earlier:

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitio...on-top-40-music-anything-else-is-preferable-2
Click to expand...
This one is a must-read:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItsPopularNowItSucks

That is my feeling with the top 40 music. They are earworms that cannot get out of my head, as much as I want them out. The music is very bland and focuses on catchy repetitiveness.

That trope is also applicable to so much advertising. Most of the movies advertised are "multiplex" films, rather than arthouse films. Most of the video games advertised are M-rated mainsteam titles that generate much publicity, rather than those that are cult classics. When it comes to the media, I am very much a hipster, one who prefers to consume obscure media that very few people have even heard about and have elements that do not have mainstream appeal (not even shock value).
 
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Transportfan said:
We need standards of decency. If we allow this ad, what's next? Writing profanity out in full?
Click to expand...
Jiminy Jillikers, Radioactive Man :D

I personally greatly dislike the infantilizing race to the bottom of our collective culture, but I certainly see how it is both economically and politically lucrative. I try to stay away from that auditory and visual diarrhea, though I do admit it's sometimes difficult not to indulge.

Adam Curtis' Century of the Self is a good documentary that explains the rise of psychoanalisis as an academic profession and it's role in shaping our current culture. It's an interesting angle that certainly puts a few things into perspective. Here's the full documentary: link

By the way, I found that real estate ad to be very clever...
 
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Speaking of controversial ads - why aren't we talking about the mode of the ads itself? One really, really annoying variation of the mobile ad trucks has just cropped out - with LED screens instead of printed signs.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Speaking of controversial ads - why aren't we talking about the mode of the ads itself? One really, really annoying variation of the mobile ad trucks has just cropped out - with LED screens instead of printed signs.

AoD
Click to expand...
I must agree. They are extremely annoying, especially if combined with megaphones and loudspeakers. They blind me at times.
 
On the sides of buses and streetcars, there is an ad for a certain controversial video game that shares its acronym with a conurbation that consists of Halton, Peel, York, Durham, and Ontario's capital. It looks like an ad for the iPhone, but is not. Said game is banned in certain countries and a certain outspoken evangelist launches a crusade against it. We all know what game it is.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Speaking of controversial ads - why aren't we talking about the mode of the ads itself? One really, really annoying variation of the mobile ad trucks has just cropped out - with LED screens instead of printed signs.

AoD
Click to expand...

Those things aren't just annoying, they're very dangerous as well. I was driving down Queen Street a few Sundays ago and one of those trucks startled me with its loudspeakers (it was playing a movie trailer and blasted sound right through the driver side window) and then went on to blind me with its LED sign. It's only a matter of time before they cause a crash (if they haven't already).
 
TheTigerMaster said:
Those things aren't just annoying, they're very dangerous as well. I was driving down Queen Street a few Sundays ago and one of those trucks startled me with its loudspeakers (it was playing a movie trailer and blasted sound right through the driver side window) and then went on to blind me with its LED sign. It's only a matter of time before they cause a crash (if they haven't already).
Click to expand...
These things truly need to be outlawed (along with digital billboards that come attached with loudspeakers), as they do pose a threat to safety. There is a very good reason why most billboards and bus shelter ads do not have loudspeakers attached to them.

The radio is annoying enough (especially with Virgin Radio's Top 40 earworms and especially the ads between the songs), but adding sounds to visual ads would be extremely annoying. Good luck being in a subway train and having sounds coming out of the ads (that are not TTC-related). Good thing Smell-o-vision is just a fad, or else being exposed to perfume ads would cause some passersby to faint (yes, there are some people who would faint from smelling beer or the "new car scent" a few metres away as well).
 
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