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This ad appears too provocative to some.
UPDATED WITH MTA RESPONSE
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but City Councilman David Greenfield says Lane Bryant’s new F train subway ad campaign featuring “nomal-sized” women in underwear is too provocative on the eyes of the Chasidic and Orthodox Jewish communities of Borough Park and Midwood, and he’s urging the MTA to take them down.
Greenfield said ever since Lane Bryant started their #ImNoAngel campaign to challenge Victoria Secret standards of beauty by featuring “normal-sized” women in lingerie on subways and billboards, including floor-to-ceiling posters wrapped inside and outside of F train cars, his office has been flooded with complaints from families with small children who have been shocked to see them almost everywhere they turn.
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City Councilman David Greenfield (photo by BensonghurstBean)
“Our local neighborhoods are not Times Square. These are where families live and children walk the streets. It’s not just subway riders who see these ads that literally wrap an entire train. People see these ads from their streets, their cars, and even their own windows facing the elevated line. We’re asking that the MTA be sensitive to the concerns of families by removing them from the subway or, at the very least, moving the ads to other lines,” said Greenfield.
But Lane Bryant, which provide high-quality fashion for plus-sized women, said the campaign was launched to inspire confidence in women of all body types.
“Our ‘#ImNoAngel’ campaign is designed to empower ALL women to love every part of herself. Lane Bryant firmly believes that she is sexy and we want to encourage her to confidently show it, in her own way,” said Lane Bryant CEO and President Linda Heasley in a statement.
While the MTA has in the past taken down ads that they deem inappropriate, most recently declining to advertise an overly-suggestive ad for DUMBO Moving and Storage, they are standing by the Lane Bryant ad.
“These advertisements are part of a campaign running in outdoor formats across the country. The ads meet the standards for commercial advertising commonly used by transit agencies in many states. They are scheduled to run on the F train for another three weeks,” said MTA spokesperson Amanda Kwan.
