Wodka's Prostitution-Themed Ad Upsets Bronx; Company Removes Billboard
Did Wodka vodka really not know prostitution was a sensitive subject in the Bronx? Namely near Hunts Point?.
The company removed a bilboard from above the Bruckner Expressway Wednesday that read "Escort Quality, Hooker Pricing" after it drew complaints from the local community board-- and got a lot of media coverage.
"When I saw it I almost fell out of my seat," Rafael Salamanca Jr., district manager for CB 2, told The New York Daily News. "That's an inappropriate billboard given what the Hunts Point community has gone through in the past."
In the 90s HBO focused their lens on the neighborhood for a documentary series called "Hookers at the Point," showing a very active prostitution circuit in the area.
Of course, Wodka probably knew what they were doing with the Bronx bilboard. In 2010 they put up an ad along the West Side Highway that read, "Christmas Quality, Hannukah Pricing." The Anti-Defamation League promptly condemned the ad as "crude and offensive," it got a lot of media coverage and Wodka removed the ad. Sound familiar? The New York Times noted at the time that the company's known for this kind of "shock advertising."
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First Posted: 02/22/2012 6:14 pm Updated: 03/ 2/2012 12:43 pm