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People who drive to work just don't realize how charming the T is

Ick

Somebody at the T must be slipping: As I rode the Orange Line to Back Bay today, only one side of the train was filled with all these BO ads (including a BO meter that ranged from "aromatic" to "putrid"). The other side just had boring ads for veteran outreach programs and solicitations for people who want to be human guinea pigs.

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and only take it down if the right people complain - like the pastor who was offended by the "Sex Every Night" ads a few years back.

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And why shouldnt they?

If the ad agency think insulting their customers leads to sales, so be it.

The government should have no say in what ads appear on the T. If they pay the bill, then thats all that matters

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Actually, isn't the MBTA a governmental agency?

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Thats what I mean. They're the government. Free speech.

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So free speech means I can put that BO ad on your personal car?

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Yes anon, thats exactly what I meant. 100% right. You're awesome.

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to allow McDonalds to put an ad on the side of his house in exchange for McDonalds paying the mortgage or the property taxes, you wouldn't object to that either. After all, he's just trying to pay his bills - like you claim the T is.

The unnecessary explosion of advertising on the T and elsewhere (like the absolutely absurd and pitiful progression of billboards along I-93 between Malden and Boston) is a prime example of a) how the ad execs force their messages on a captive audience and b) how easily society is willing to ignore this intrusion into our everyday lives because "it's private industry AND private industry ALWAYS does things right and shouldn't be questioned.

I am getting increasingly sick and tired of the pathetic justifications that people use to continue allowing the ad executives to plaster the world and every aspect of our lives, from riding or walking to checking e-mail or the weather forecast on the Web, with their inane and wasteful (time, resources, AND money) messages, as long as they pay us enough for that right. And if the T, which is supposed to be a TRANSPORTATION AGENCY, loses some fare paying passengers because they capituate to a bunch of uncreative Madison avenue jerks, I guess that's all right too

Even though the MBTA is a government enterprise, they should have the same rights to do what private media and broadcasters do every day. That is, the freedom to choose the companies they want to advertise with them and be able to edit or refuse ads based on content.

The fact is that George Orwell got it wrong - it's not total intrusion into our lives by the government we have to fear, it's total intrusion into our lives by the marketing executives. Sadly, we're much closer to that day than anybody who has the power to change this is willing to admit.

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By my logic?

No, because I said nothing that even related to what you're talking about.

Here is what I said:

The T has ad panels. Advertisers can purchase ads for these panels. The government cannot restrict which advertisements they feel are appropriate. Now, the courts do give the MBTA the right to restrict "offensive" content, like boobies, but I believe that's bullshit.

I said nothing about putting up billboards on private property.

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Amen, brother! Amen!

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Even the relatively uncrowded express bus smelled like a frakking lockerroom. BO was very much with us today.

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Guess what? It's september first. Everyone's sweaty and smelling like a locker room today

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The Red Line train I rode this afternoon from Davis to Park Street also was dominated by these ads.

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Is it legal to take down offensive ads, or to flip them around?

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The two Red Line cars I rode after 10am today did not have any of these ads. One car was dominated by Comcast ads specifically targeting college students, and the other car was almost completely devoid of ads.

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Now we just need an ad campaign to educate people that drinking a cup of coffee in the morning is not a substitute for brushing one's teeth. Nothing like that yawn of coffee-scented poo.

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If it helps the trains run and keeps my monthly pass at just $60, then let them put ads for Fox News, firearms, and prostitute for all I care. I hate the advertising industry with every corner of my bleeding heart, but the way you sensitive clowns cry over billboards is borderline insane.

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I pay a buttload of taxes, and I ride the T. Drivers are freeloading on me. One part of not treating me like crap is getting rid of the obnoxious ads in the T. I am paying to get rid of those ads, and I want them gone.

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I am a proponent of modal equality, but can you explain in more detail what you mean when you say that drivers are freeloading on you?

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Paying taxes should not be considered something like being a consumer in a marketplace. We're all raised in this country to be smart consumers and to get our dollar's worth and not to let anyone take advantage of us and to be savvy when it comes to marketing...etc. etc. So when the gov't does stuff that seems to our eyes as useless or not what we want or not directly benefiting us, we view it from a consumer perspective and say "hey, that's not what my buttload of taxes should be going to" as if govt services are like toiler paper brands.

Taxes are an obligation, a duty, a responsibility of citizens in a democracy (like jury duty) not a consumer choice. Libertarians may not agree, but you can't and you shouldn't pick and choose what you want your tax dollars to go to. You pick and choose the assholes who represent you to make those decisions (or decide that these people are incompetent assholes and you run yourself).

I hate advertising, don't want it in my face 24-7 and not on the T, but I won't make the argument that "I pay for this service, so do it the way I want it done." The argument should be our govt services shouldn't be pimped like this, why don't you bureaucrats and elected officials find savings or revenue elsewhere. Better yet I should come up with some ideas and propose them.

The reality is that shit is expensive and even though you feel like you pay a "buttload" of taxes chances are the percentage of your tax dollar going to the T is very small. And if we pay a buttload, what exactly are they paying in Western Europe?

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Several years ago Tide Detergent sponsored a campaign that placed a (presumably) naked woman behind either a box of Tide or a washing machine in the advertisement. The uproar was focused on the supposed sexism. The T took these signs down.

I always remember this controversy whenever the T whores itself to beer and hard liquor companies. The T management rolls over because of supposed sexism but happily sucks in the money for a product that causes death and destruction every day.

But then the T is infamous for maintaining a system that argues against its use: radio broadcasts at South Station, constant annoying, frequently redundant announcements at all stations, buss drivers that refuse to stop when requested. So the Tide Detergent fiasco, coupled with whoring for alcohol companies, is not surprising. On the other hand, if the T is willing to take in alcohol money, they could make another killing by allowing signs advertising cigarettes. Certainly no less lethal than booze; but perhaps too politically incorrect today.

Gotta love the T.

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I fully support this ad - if it raises public awareness to bathe and wear deodorant before getting in a confined space with limited ventilation - even better! There are WAY TOO MANY SMELLY PEOPLE ON THE T, I don't care if this is an ad, I hope it embarrasses some people into purchasing deodorant and using it! I really can't believe some people want this taken down - are you the pungent offenders that leave me breathing into my freshly laundered clothes in an effort from gagging on stank?? BLECK! Now if only some company would come up with a "DONT YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT FARTING IN THIS CONFINED SPACE" campaign around one of their products...I would be ever grateful.

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I believe these ads are for Gillette products - deodorant, body wash, etc. (Gillette might have wanted to make the pictures of their products bigger on the signs ... they're really small in the bottom corner.)

And I say HUZZAH to the ads. I'd rather see funny, to-the-point advertising any day than smell rancid, unwashed humans in a stagnant T car.

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Seriously? You like these insulting ads? People are supposed to smell a bit. Truly, everyone should take a bath every day in the summer and wear clean clothes (that is really the problem, usually) but Americans are just a wee bit freaky about this subject. The ads represent a further deterioration of civil public discourse and decorum. These ads are offensive and I tore one off the wall yesterday and will do it again.

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While I think only a few mating teens and 20somethings would even be phased by the ads, face it: the ads bring some light hearted humor to a reality that won't change--old habits die hard and the T isn't about to make people stop smelling bad... What I really don't comprehend is how in our economy anyone can think it's a better idea to drain people of the approximate 40percent of fare cost the ads effectively subsidize. Whether YOU are poor or not, plenty of parents have been laid off, teachers like myself have pay cuts or freezes or both with the same hours to work... You want everyone, financially struggling and eco-conscious and time-sensitive alike, to buy their passes at a higher cost because you're repulsed by ads that lessen fare? For MANY people, that $40 difference per person means eating that third meal in the day. Maybe those families deserve to stay unemployed if they can't afford to pay nearly double to apply/interview/get to their jobs etc (the savings for individual passes is much greater percent wise-savings are already built into the monthly unlimited passes).

So whoever wants to pay another $40 to never face the body odor ads... Consider that you'd also be lessening OTHER tax benefits like firemen and school for kids because the people living off social security and/or unemployment are ultimately our tax burden. I'd suggest you spend the $40+ a month enjoying a nice dinner out or hiring a maid for a day or seeing a show or getting a new do or a massage every 6 weeks... Even eating a gallon of ice cream or buying a couple bottles of wine may help you chill out. Get some new shoes every few months or ski equipment upgrades or bike tune ups... Or just be glad the soup kitchens are a little less drained-about half a million dollars a month less drained if you want REALITY to be factored in-because you are bombarded the 10 seconds you aren't reading or talking or listening to your iPods on the line. Get over yourselves and think about whether those 10 seconds 10 times a week are worth not paying another half million bucks every month to cover the cost for -just- those who'd literally drain the food banks that much more (as a director of one for 12 years before I went full time into education I know the collective burden), let alone the cost to the people who'd rather get to buy a less beat up jacket this winter or even BUY THOSE ANTI-STINK PRODUCTS. The world isn't made of gumdrops and lollipops... But since you're so wealthy, the banks will be THRILLED to take your extra $480/year, which clearly could be used for something more worthwhile, is clearly more deserved by kids whose only meal each day is at school...

Pay up or shut up.

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I think the canmpaign is funny and I like it. In fact I think they should provide a B.O. meter to people when they buy a Gilette product in this promo. For those who don't know the transit company does not pay for the ads the company does; so stop wining, and learn how to joy life even the small things.

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At least my adolescent sons, my nephew, and my cousin said they would like one when I posted the picture of the ad to facebook. "That would be really handy", said my 19 year old cousin.

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