Mihaela Anton

                                     To call or not to call? That is the question.

             “Oh come on let’s just call! It’s not like there is going to be somebody who will actually answer?!” that’s what two high school freshmen, Natalie Lopez and Andreea John were talking about while taking down a number from an advertisement, on their new blackberries.  What number were they planning to call? What else than a virginity hot line?  That’s what probably everybody thought after they saw the cheekiest advertisements JCDecaux decided to welcome with the back to school season.  

            “Still a virgin need help? Call 888-743-4335”, is the way Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are promoting their new movie called, suggestively “The Virginity Hit”.  What is all the fuss about?  Is actually bad media of what critics will call “the bastard child of “American Pie” and “Blair Witch Project.”, gone a little bit overboard.  Big panels with bright red bolded letters, or the subway version sexy lips low cut top and a phone number won’t clearly lead to something good.

            As an example the controversy stirred, reached the highest peak in states like Louisiana, Miami, San Diego, and Arizona where the advertisements for the movie are already banned.  Politicians, parents and simply puritan’s complaints were enough for the panels to be removed and it was exactly what radio stations needed to cover the brouhaha.

            Where did all the MTA officials go, and why didn’t anybody else in New York saw these advertisements? There is actually a code of rules the Advertisement companies have to follow so that there is nothing that violates the codes of censorship. 

            Metro’s spokeswoman Diane Williams, who provided a list called “Advertising Standards and Guidelines” on the JCDecaux’s website with all the rules and the criterion in which the advertisements get accepted or denied.  There is one passage prohibiting anything that "contains material which is likely to offend, discomfort, or annoy Metro customers, or make them feel unwelcome, unsafe, or uncomfortable."  Also in another passage there is mentioned that advertisements which "fosters sexual, racial, religious or other offensive stereotypes," will not be accepted and passed on to posting. Her comment to this question was still pending at the time of publication. 

            So it is really interesting why this company chose not to post some Oktoberfest posters because they were too revealing and provocative even though their revenue would have been considerable but they chose instead to promote a movie which is as revealing and full with innuendos. 

            In my opinion there is much more of a danger to post a movie advertisement, similar to an invite to promiscuity for every naïve teen, than a Oktoberfest promotion which is clearly dedicated to an +21 group.  I don’t see any danger in a stein-weilding fraulein holding a pitcher of beer clearly targeted to a different public, who hopefully might have a little bit more of consent than a 14 year old.