A New York state senator believes that this ad offends his Brooklyn constituents while they wrere shopping.
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By JAMES WITHERS
Friday, March 11, 2005
State Sen. Marty Golden (R-Bay Ridge) is concerned about the bus-shelter ads for the “The L Word”, a Showtime show that depicts the lives and loves of Los Angeles lesbians.
In a March 1 letter to Anne Koening, executive director of the New York City Department of Transportation, Golden said the ads “should not be what local school children should be subjected to at this bus stop as they go to and from school.” Golden also voiced concerns that “shoppers must stare [at the ads] as they walk this treasured shopping strip and wait for their bus home.”
The posters in question show all of the characters looking at the camera, minus clothes but the camera stays well above their cleavage. The placards were originally located at a bus shelter on 77th Street and Third Avenue.
John Quaglione, the senator’s district manager and press secretary, said the Golden complaint was only about the sexual nature of the poster and its placement near schools and houses of worship. “He objected to the placement of the ad. It is not the content of the ad,” Quaglione said. “This has nothing to do with homosexuality. Homosexuality is the furthest thing from this complaint.”
Quaglione even said if a similar advertisement of New York Yankees baseball stars were up the senator would still have voiced a concern. “A guy standing there with a girl, or any combination of undressed people. That is the bottom line here,” Quaglione said
Quaglione did not call the poster pornographic and emphasized no one was looking to abridge any First Amendment rights. “We are not looking to go down the First Amendment path,” Quaglione said. “You go to Times Square and you expect to see anything; however, they do not fit in with this environment. That is the argument here.”
Craig Chin, spokesperson for the DOT, said there is only one stipulation in the contract between the department and Viacom, the company that produces the show.
“Our contract is with Viacom and in the contract they can advertise in the bus stop shelters,” said Chin. “The only thing in our contracts is that they cannot have ads dealing with tobacco. The ad wasn’t dealing with tobacco.”
Gary Parker, president of Brooklyn’s Lambda Independent Democrats, accused Golden of having a double standard. “If the ad were for UPN’s ‘America’s Top Model’, I am sure he would have no objection,” Parker wrote in a statement to the media. “The senator is once again pushing his right wing Republican agenda to oppress the LGBT community from being treated equal to those of any other New Yorker.”
Parker did hint Golden’s objections could be good for the show. “We are grateful that the Senator is calling attention to this campaign,” wrote Parker. “Additional attention to the media campaign will increase the number of viewers, which will inevitably lead to a better understanding of the lesbian community.”
Jodi Senese, the executive vice president of Viacom Outdoor, said the company policy was to be mindful of placing ads near churches or schools. “We like to be responsive,” Senese said.
Senese revealed that she has received a total of four calls about the ads. After receiving a copy of Golden’s letter the posters were taken down. “They [Viacom] have removed them,” said Quaglione. “They were very professional about it.”
“This campaign is over and the ads will be down at the end of the week,” Senese said. “The L Word,” which is in its second season, has been hailed for its depiction of the everyday lives of a group of lesbians.
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