I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry at this billboard.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

**Elza{/B] I saw something in the local paper about those billboards last year when they first started showing up around here. Apparently the state got a Federal grant of some kind, and part of the condition to receive the grant was to spent part of it on advertising that sex with underaged folks is just wrong. I don’t remember the specifics, but that’s the general story of the billboards.

Now, I saw a new billboard last week on my way to work, much like the one verbenabeast saw. This one says “I pooted.”

22

Holy crap, just look at that coding balls-up.

23

They used to have those on cabs in NYC, too - not sure if they still do, but I snapped a pic of one when I was living there because it cracked me up.

I keep telling my dad to watch out for the billboard when he’s on the road - it might be something to help him :smiley: .

24

I really doubt that was the primary intention of the sign. It seems more likely that the sign might be somewhat effective at:

a. alerting non-pedophiles that pedophilia exists and that it should not be tolerated.

b. encouraging non-pedophiles who know pedophiles to get them help.

I’m not saying the sign was necessarily a good idea; I just think it deserves a little more credit.

25

Hey, I just saw the “I pooted” billboard here in Chicago (I was on the train, so I don’t remember exactly where it was. What’s it advertising?

26

In Milwaukee we have those on billboards and buses. I think some of the buses even have them in spanish.

27

Isn’t she a little too blue for you?

Strangling people to death, don’t go there.

28

It’s Lamar’s way of getting your attention so that you notice there’s a billboard available for rent (Lamar being the name of the billboard company).

29

Well, it’s not like they’re talking to you, Harmonious. They’re not accusing you of anything. It’s not offensive in the slightest.

And I agree that anyone who’s interested in “young girls” probably isn’t going to change merely from a billboard. In my opinion, they’d be smart to target the girls rather than the guys…they’re the ones whose lives are going to get all out of whack. It boils down to much more than just the illegal aspect. Should a kid hook up seriously with an older guy at that age, they’ll be old women by the time they’re 30.

30

That’s just what I said to my Afro-Caribbean friend in the pub! “It’s not like they’re talking to you, Winston”, I said. “They’re not accusing you of anything. It’s not offensive in the slightest.” Words of wisdom.

He still had this stick up his ass about the poster he’d seen warning young black men not to mug people.

31

Hmmm…I dunno…I think this might be a little different. I’ll see if I can figure out how to articulate it. For one, they’re not directing it at all young men…just the black ones. That’s offensive.

32

Then they did an extraordinarily bad job. If there was a company name or phone number anywhere on the sign, I didn’t see it.

33

Kalhoun
It is offensive and I get sick of people taking cheap shots at my subgroup of the population (men), and the women thinking it’s not offensive to single us out unfairly grouped with the criminals in ads like this.

Malacandra has posted a reply that has a double meaning also if you look at it better. It can be taken as a nice sarcastic reply to your post.
I’m not going to fight about this, since I’ve made it clear, that it is offensive to me, and bandying back and forth won’t change that. I wish you could see that, but not everyone is going to meet eye to eye on everything.

34

No, sorry. The original billboard is not directing it at all kiddy-fiddlers, just the male ones. That’s offensive. Not to mention tarring the enormous proportion of innocent along with the guilty.

35

(The Yahoo! Ads are no nearly as entertaining for this thread as I hoped.)

All of this is part of a general crackdown on men who father children and abandon them. (Or in this case case take an interest in children, have sex with them and abandon them.) It makes sense to make some effort to nip the problem in the bud rather than continuing as we did in the past.

All the ‘Deadbeat Dad’ program, part of the the same general trend I think.

36

What exactly is this billboard supposed to do, other than insult the people who see it and have penises?

37

They’re actually for Cartoon Network. The online article was on CNN.com explaining that the sponsor will be revealed in the future.

38

Well, I don’t think that such a billboard would make me break up with a 15 year old that I’m already dating, but maybe I would spend a few fewer afternoons hanging around the local high schools. You know, just to try to start making some positive, gradual changes in my life.

39

It would depend. I mean, am I already gettin’ some, or am I just a source of cheap treats and is she calling me “Grandad” behind my back, just 'cos I’m biologically old enough to be? I guess it could tip the scales.

Or else, and this is just a wild guess on my part, this is just someone somewhere’s latest feelgood initiative that will actually do dick to solve any problems?