Sexy captions removed from Bench billboards – MMDA

BAD FOR MORALS. MMDA asks the advertising firm to remove the suggestive captions from Bench's billboards in the EDSA-Guadalupe area. Photo from Bench's Facebook account

MANILA, Philippines – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Thursday, September 4, that the "a local outdoor advertising firm" had "acceded" to removing suggestive captions from billboards in the Guadalupe area of EDSA.

In a statment, MMDA said Chairman Francis Tolentino "asked the advertiser to roll down their billboards in the area and revise immediately their content which was found to have sexual overtones and offensive to the morals, especially the youth, and the general public as well."

The statement didn't name the "clothing line" whose billboards featured, for example, "a half-nude young couple clad in skimpy denim shorts," but the "profane" captions it cited were similar to those used by Bench Clothing.

The MMDA said among the "obtrusive content of billboards that line Epifanio delos Santos Avenue and JP Rizal Extension" were "Come and Play," "Temptation Calls," and "Express Your Hidden Desires."

Bench has been using "Come and Play, "Temptation Awaits," and "Confess Your Desires," among other slogans.

Tolentino said he took action after Catholic bishops called his attention to the matter.

“We cannot afford this kind of profane language being used in billboards to go unabated because this might lead to the breakdown of the morals of the public,” Tolentino said.

He called on the advertising industry to exercise "self-regulation" and "prudence" in coming up with advertising signs.