BART Rejects Underwear Ad As Too Vulgar
OAKLAND (CBS SF) – An ad campaign from a New York-based women's underwear manufacturer centering on a controversial statement made by Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has been rejected by BART officials.
The campaign slogan from THINX that was proposed to be displayed on ads in BART station was a takeoff on a record conversation between television host Billy Bush and Trump.
The presidential candidate said he felt free to do what he wanted to woman because of his fame, including grabbing "them by the p…"
BART officials said the wording was not proper for its stations.
"After careful consideration and review, the District has rejected a portion of an advertising campaign from THINX on the basis their advertisement," said BART spokesperson Taylor Huckaby in a prepared statement. "[C]ontains words recognized by the community as vulgar, indecent or profane for display in a public setting that includes minors."
Huckaby said the transit agency has in the past approved other ads from THINX for station display.
"We did accept dozens of their ads as part of this campaign," Huckey said in the statement. "This is the only one that did not comply."
"Crude descriptions of sexual anatomy, regardless of sex, are vulgar," the statement continued. "This is not the kind of atmosphere appropriate to generate inside BART stations. While we understand the spirit behind 'reclaiming' vulgar words, our advertising standards make it clear that BART is not the suitable setting to begin such a campaign."
THINX CEO Miki Agrawal told the San Francisco Examiner she did not understand BART's objections.
"It's okay for a candidate for POTUS to use this language and for it to be reproduced and repeated uncensored, but a female-run company can't use the same word? It doesn't make sense," she said.
