Boston Restaurant Answers Censorship of Ads with Its Own "Censored" Ads."Censored cen·sor n. 1. A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable. 2. " Banners Call Attention To Legal Sea Foods' Right To Commercial Speech BOSTON -- After two of its ads had been deemed inappropriate by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is "a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts [1] formed in 1964 to finance and operate most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater , the Boston restaurant group Legal Sea Foods has now taken the unique step of producing replacement ads that shine a spotlight on what it feels is the censorship of its commercial speech. As a protest to the MBTA's banning of its ads, Legal Sea Foods has begun placing one-word banners that read "Censored" over the two controversial ads on the sides of Boston subways. "We want to show people that this is the scene where censorship is taking place," said Roger Berkowitz Roger Berkowitz is the President and CEO of Legal Sea Foods, Inc., a Boston-based restaurant group that boasts over 30 restaurants along the Eastern Seaboard. Roger started working in his family's fish market at the age of 10 and learned every aspect of the business. , CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Legal Sea Foods. "But the bottom line is that we still aren't allowed to run the ads that we had originally created." Earlier this month, the MBTA MBTA Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 MBTA Model-Based Tracking Algorithm began taking down two Legal Sea Foods ads that it felt were disparaging dis·par·age tr.v. dis·par·aged, dis·par·ag·ing, dis·par·ag·es 1. To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; belittle. See Synonyms at decry. 2. To reduce in esteem or rank. and inappropriate to conductors. The five-ad campaign shows anthropomorphic Having the characteristics of a human being. For example, an anthropomorphic robot has a head, arms and legs. fish imparting impudent im·pu·dent adj. 1. Characterized by offensive boldness; insolent or impertinent. See Synonyms at shameless. 2. Obsolete Immodest. remarks to passers-by to humorously underscore just how 'fresh' the fish is that the restaurant company serves. One of the ads, "Bite me" was determined to be objectionable, despite the fact that the same ad had run atop Boston taxis earlier in the year. "We feel our right to commercial speech has been violated, and it was almost violated a second time as the MBTA took more than eight days to sit in judgment of our 'Censored' ad before giving its nihil obstat nihil obstat Roman Catholic Church’s inscription in books denoting no objection to literary content. [Christian Hist.: Misc.] See : Censorship ," said Berkowitz. Interestingly, the timing of the latest events is not lost on Legal Sea Foods, as these ads will be up and running just in time for July 4. "As we look forward to celebrating our nation's birthday, it's important that we take a stand against censorship. Our forefathers forefathers npl → antepasados mpl forefathers npl → ancêtres mpl forefathers npl → Vorfahren made freedom of speech the top priority in the Bill of Rights," said Berkowitz. Legal Sea Foods, with 16 Boston area restaurants, last week ran a full-page print ad in the Boston Globe entitled "Eat me" that offered a free seafood dinner to subway conductors who may have been offended by the ads. The language in that ad has not been met with any criticism to date. LEGAL SEA FOODS - CENSORED ADS TIMELINE December 22, 2007 - "Fresh Fish" ad campaign begins airing in Boston. First appears as cinema ads in movie theaters across Boston. Later runs on tops of taxicabs. May 2008 - "Fresh Fish" campaign begins running on the Green Line trolley cars. Each poster features a different fish uttering a "fresh" remark. June 2 - The MBTA says that two ads -- "This conductor has a face like a halibut halibut: see flatfish. halibut Any of various flatfishes, especially the Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (genus Hippoglossus, family Pleuronectidae), both of which have eyes and colour on the right side. " and "Bite me" -- violate its Advertising Guidelines. June 2 - Boston Carmen's says its conductors are "angered and offended" by the ads: The union warns that "If (the ads) don't come down, we will not drive those trains." June 3 - The MBTA informs Legal Sea Foods that it will begin taking down the two ads in question. In addition to the two banned ads, the MBTA begins removing a third ad ("This train gets around more than your sister") without cause. June 5 - Noted First Amendment attorney Martin Garbus Martin Garbus (born 1934) is an attorney specializing in trial practice. He has litigated in a many areas, including First Amendment, intellectual property, anti-trust, and criminal law. He has been hired to represent Don Imus in a lawsuit against CBS regarding Imus' termination. reviews the MBTA's right to remove the controversial ads. He responds that the "MBTA has no legal basis to demand that Legal Sea Foods cease running these advertisements." June 13 - Carmen's Union calls for a boycott of its restaurant. June 18 - Legal Sea Foods sends replacement ads to the MBTA to run in the two blank spaces. The ads simply carry a "Censored" banner that will run across the banned copy. The MBTA says it is reviewing the new ads to determine if they violate its advertising guidelines. June 19 - The MBTA informs Legal Sea Foods that it will run the new "Censored" ads, but only if the company can provide assurances that it will not pursue any future legal action. June 23 - Legal Sea Foods runs a full-page ad in the Boston Globe inviting all train conductors to visit a local restaurant and enjoy a free fish entree, compliments of Legal. June 25 - Legal Sea Foods is informed that the "Censored" ads can run on the trolleys. July 4 - Legal Sea Foods' "Censored" ads - which serve as a visible protest to having its right to commercial speech trampled by a government agency -- will be fully up and running just in time to celebrate our nation's birthday. |
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