Heidi Klum seems very excited about the 12th season of Project Runway that will be airing on July 18th, if her Twitter account is any indication. On July 9th, she tweeted out an image promoting the new season of the hit reality show, which was supposed to grace all kinds of billboards, websites, and bus shelters.
.@ProjectRunway Designers! We need clothing for these people! Fast! Season 12 starts July 18th on @lifetimetv! pic.twitter.com/eWUJuWg224
— Heidi Klum (@heidiklum) July 9, 2013
The city of Los Angeles, California, however, found it a bit too risque. The city has decided to not run the advertisement, and there are plans to replace it with a different version featuring models in underwear, rather than their birthday suits. The city has not come out in full detail about their refusal to run the billboard, though they do reserve the right to keep “obscene matters” from tainting the public eye.
But, really, who can blame these officials? They are only trying to protect their citizens from this blatantly offensive advertising. It’s not like naked women are used in advertising for basically everything. Nor is it the case that literally thousands of other advertisements using nudity are already in the public eye. And it is certainly wrong to presume that covering up with underwear might, in actuality, not fix everything offensive about an advertisement.
No, no. These brave officials in L.A. have done a fantastic job of keeping offensive material out of advertising. After all, there is nothing more shameful and disgusting than the naked human body, and it should be kept out of the public eye at all costs. Unless, of course, it’s a woman’s body being manipulated by the male gaze, for the male gaze, usually in a beer commercial or ad for Axe shave gel. I mean, just think of the children! These are important lessons they need to internalize, after all.