Here’s an interesting one to ponder over the weekend. BJ Grand Salon and Spa in Jerome, IL posted this billboard featuring a nude woman with her naughty-bits strategically covered up. Apparently, citizens were outraged. And by “citizens,” I assume they mean one person because that’s usually all it takes for a billboard company or client to cave. HIP Advertising, who created this childhood-ruining monstrosity, quickly agreed to add a “censored” snipe to it. The kicker is that the snipe also includes the URL bjgranddebate.com where visitors can vote on the original design’s level of lewdness.
Fucking brilliant. I hope this was the contingency plan all along because the original ad is just so-so if not completely ignorable. I’m not sold on if it’s brilliant for the client though. But I love that someone is creating a conversation about this issue. Spas and salons always want to show half-naked women on billboards, and some outdoor companies refuse the ad because of the reactions it might cause. The results will be an interesting case study. In an age where anything and everything immoral, deviant, sacrilegious and just plain gross is available on the internet, R-rated (heck, PG-13 even) billboards still create controversy. And they say people don’t look at billboards anymore.
What do you think? Leave your opinion in the comments below, and then go vote.
[via Adrants]
