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Bum Deal: Bidet Company Will Cover Up Butts
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 31, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 31, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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God, 1, cheeky advertising, 0, as bottoms will be covered up in bathroom fixture company Toto's controversial Times Square billboard. Originally, bare butts covered only by smiley faces (part of Toto's "Clean is Happy campaign") would have been wrapped around building's corner, but then one of the building's tenants, the Times Square Church, complained.
The church claimed the ad "certainly unsuited for public exposure to children, and antithetical to the values of our congregation and church." A judge blocked the ad from going up while she reviewed the case's "novel and significant issues," but the public will miss out on a debate about commerce, public decency, church, and personal hygiene with Toto's decision to rework the ads.
According to the Post, Toto released a statement saying that a white bar will go "across the bottoms, 'in effect 'clothing' them by removing any hint of their anatomical features,'" leaving the ad to read, "This is our bottom line... Clean is happy. No ifs, ands, or ..." But the full-butt-monty billboards will be seen in LA, where underwearless starlets have inevitably prepped the market.
Ever since the controversy, we've received emails from competitor bidet companies, noting how they support the Times Square Church's plan, with one even offering to donate $10,000 worth of their toilet cover product to the church. Who knew the bidet market was so heated?
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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