TTC: No Double Standard; AIDS Campaign Gets Approval, But Not Men's Clinic Ads

The head of the Toronto Transit Commission's advertising review committee said ads for the Canadian Men's Clinic need "substantial" changes before they can be posted in the system. Toronto Councilor Joe Mihevc defended the decision to reject the ads, which show a woman's bare shoulders and cleavage with questions alluding to sexual dysfunction. But he approved an ad by the AIDS Committee of Toronto campaign with the slogan "Welcome to Condom Country." The men's clinic ads show a "fair degree of nudity" and Mihevc said there were objections to the use of women "to sell a male product." "It's not a double standard," Mihevc said. "They're very different ads."

The AIDS committee campaign plays on old Marlboro Man ads, showing two men on a horse with the reminder, "HIV is on the rise in Toronto. Ride safely." "It's a very big public health issue. . . . This is meant to catch people's attention, to save lives," Mihevc said. "They were quite tasteful. The sexual innuendo is secondary to the main message."

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