Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Bum Deal: Bidet Company Will Cover Up Butts
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 31, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 31, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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?
Tagged
advertising
bar
children
church
la
News: NYC
Times Square
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 4:47 p.m. ET
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .