Ads rejected by Lamar in TX, SD, and WI: Choice, the war, and mercury.

From Tim at the DNC...
http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/12/more_on_lamar_a.php

http://www.prochoicesd.org/archive.htm

LAMAR Advertising Refuses to Sell Billboard Space!

SD/MN Planned Parenthood has been working on a really great project to help build support for Emergency Contraception in SD as we head into the legislative session. Their plan was to buy a couple of billboards in December in Sioux Falls and Rapid City that say, “Prevent 1.7 million unplanned pregnancies each year. Support Emergency Contraception.” They want people to know that they can come to Planned Parenthood for Emergency Contraception and that it is important to support access to EC – particularly for victims of sexual assault.

The primary billboard company in Sioux Falls & Rapid City (in fact the only company in SF), LAMAR, has refused to allow us to put the billboards up. The general manager thinks it is “offensive” and a bad business decision. He doesn’t want to have to put up with a bunch of calls from people who oppose Planned Parenthood. When Kate Looby asked him if he would continue to display abstinence only billboards in SF, he told her he would because nobody has a problem with the abstinence only message.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/archive.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2004/08/27/fishing_ad/index.html

Gone fishing for publicity

Anglers on their way into the north woods of Wisconsin this Labor Day weekend won't be seeing one important message: Mercury-with-fins could be tugging on the other end of their lines.

This month Environment 2004, a political group aimed at exposing the Bush administration's anti-environmental record, tried to place this advertisement on two billboards along a highway used by vacationers from Madison and Milwaukee. But the group found that Lamar Advertising of Central Wisconsin wasn't so keen on its message.

The ad, which reads "Mercury. It's what's for dinner. Served up by the Bush Administration," carries a photo of a rather sick looking white bass. "We believe the ad making Bush responsible for mercury poisoning is not appropriate for our market in central Wisconsin," an employee of Lamar wrote to Environment 2004 in an email rejecting the ad this earlier this week.

Wisconsin was one of the 48 out of 50 states listed by the Environmental Protection Agency in a report Tuesday detailing warning advisories about levels of mercury and other toxins in the rivers and lakes of America.

Rejected in Texas in 2003
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/03/25/working_assets/

They put up billboards that are vile and disgusting in support of Repungnants, but nothing for the Dems.

This is illegal and the DNC should sue.

Private businesses pretty much have the right to accept or refuse advertising based on whatever criteria they wish. The first amendment only applies to government, and I don't think discrimination statutes apply here (and even if they did -- political persuasion isn't always a covered class).

Billboards aren't regulated by the government like TV and radio (well, some cities have sign ordinances but that's not what I mean), so I don't think there are real rules concerning political advertising (TV and radio have to offer good rates to candidate ads, and can't refuse to run an ad simply because of political party or lack thereof) .

All the DNC needs to do is go back and produce photos of billboards promoting Republicans and questioning Democrats.

Pictures of aborted fetuses aren't covered.
Emergency contraception isn't covered.
If a billboard company wants to run the former and not the latter, it's their prerogative, especially if no people or political parties are mentioned.

Mercury itself isn't covered -- but blaming it on the Bush adminstration could be (and that could be more of a case).


Edit: They can also ban ads that are controversial or offensive (although lord knows what those really mean) or libelous, if they do so without regard to who said it.