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spunkygirl · 01-24-2005, 12:31 AM

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...55E401,00.html

News.com.au

Activists deface 'offensive' advertising
From correspondents in London
January 23, 2005

BRITISH Muslim activists have stepped up a campaign to deface or rip down advertising billboards featuring scantily-clad women in communities with large numbers of Muslims.

The Advertising Standards Authority said increasing numbers of posters were being torn down or painted over in predominantly Islamic areas, The Times newspaper reported.
Ads for perfume, hair dye, bras and television programs were among those that has been attacked, the newspaper reported.
Photographs of semi-dressed women were most frequently targeted, with the offending body parts painted over or ripped off.

A poster advertising a television program called Desperate Housewives was the most recent target.
The images of two scantily-clad actresses were torn from an east London billboard but three fully-dressed characters were left intact.

A group calling themselves Muslims Against Advertising (MAAD) has established a website giving advice on how to vandalise billboards and listing potential targets.
MAAD, based in Birmingham, gives an index of defaced ads in the city, including Levis, Wonderbra, PaddyPower, a radio station and a strip club.
The group said on its website that it believed in "direct action" and "has paint and isnt afraid to use it ... there is no longer any need to cringe as you walk past a sleazy poster, well improve it".
Sky television news reported from Birmingham the campaign had achieved some of its goals as there were now few such billboards close to mosques.
An Advertising Standards Authority spokeswoman told The Times "there do seem to be more incidents".
"It's a criminal offense and private property is being defaced ... it happens in a lot of Muslim areas such as Luton, Bradford, Glasgow and Birmingham."
The authority encouraged people to contact it so that action against offensive billboards could be taken through the proper channels, the spokeswoman said.

Agence France-Presse
This report appears on NEWS.com.au.

01-24-2005, 12:31 AM	#1
spunkygirl Member Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Apr 26, 2003 Posts: 21,563	Tearing off a strip LITERALLY http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...55E401,00.html News.com.au Activists deface 'offensive' advertising From correspondents in London January 23, 2005 BRITISH Muslim activists have stepped up a campaign to deface or rip down advertising billboards featuring scantily-clad women in communities with large numbers of Muslims. The Advertising Standards Authority said increasing numbers of posters were being torn down or painted over in predominantly Islamic areas, The Times newspaper reported. Ads for perfume, hair dye, bras and television programs were among those that has been attacked, the newspaper reported. Photographs of semi-dressed women were most frequently targeted, with the offending body parts painted over or ripped off. A poster advertising a television program called Desperate Housewives was the most recent target. The images of two scantily-clad actresses were torn from an east London billboard but three fully-dressed characters were left intact. A group calling themselves Muslims Against Advertising (MAAD) has established a website giving advice on how to vandalise billboards and listing potential targets. MAAD, based in Birmingham, gives an index of defaced ads in the city, including Levis, Wonderbra, PaddyPower, a radio station and a strip club. The group said on its website that it believed in "direct action" and "has paint and isnt afraid to use it ... there is no longer any need to cringe as you walk past a sleazy poster, well improve it". Sky television news reported from Birmingham the campaign had achieved some of its goals as there were now few such billboards close to mosques. An Advertising Standards Authority spokeswoman told The Times "there do seem to be more incidents". "It's a criminal offense and private property is being defaced ... it happens in a lot of Muslim areas such as Luton, Bradford, Glasgow and Birmingham." The authority encouraged people to contact it so that action against offensive billboards could be taken through the proper channels, the spokeswoman said. Agence France-Presse This report appears on NEWS.com.au.