AN outdoor advertising agency has rejected two pro-independence billboards in a case of “political gatekeeping”, according to the man behind the idea.
Pro-Yes blogger David Hooks took to Twitter to tell his followers about the images, which were made by ItsTime.Scot, saying he’s “yet to hear a good explanation as to why”.
The first image ClearChannel rejected was a London skyline with the words “paid in Scotland” over the top and the second said “Westminster loves bombs” in front of an image of a nuclear bomb.
Update: spoke to our contact at ClearChannel & it WASN’T the ASA who rejected it but THEIR legal team
— David Hooks (@PoliticsScot) March 2, 2020
“Our policy with regards to political advertisements states that we require statements to be substantive and/or referenced”
So if you see an advert that isn’t accurate, complain. https://t.co/tNwF6kA0xb
Last month, Boris Johnson announced is planning to “love bomb” Scotland with a £5 million advertising campaign to attempt to save the Union.
READ MORE: Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: Get ready to be sick as Boris’s love bomb lands on Scotland
Speaking to The National, Hooks said he was “very surprised” the adverts were rejected.
He said: “We did specific wordplay with Westminster love bombs and Boris Johnson spending millions on advertising, presumably saying how good the Union is for Scotland.
“Because it had the word ‘bomb’ in there it was rejected. I would like to think people are more offended by nuclear weapons. They rejected the image but gave no hints for what to do differently.”
Another poster ClearChannel rejected, this one because “We felt the image and narrative of the bomb message would be alarming to the public and raise complaints, in all likelihood directed to Clear Channel”
— David Hooks (@PoliticsScot) March 2, 2020
So, having bombs in Rosyth is fine, telling people about it is “alarming” pic.twitter.com/N46Cv2X2pJ
ClearChannel said the Paid in Scotland image must “be substantive and/or referenced” to be accepted.
“They said we hadn’t paid for the whole of London so we couldn’t run it. We can show the oil revenue but it isn’t a direct enough link for them,” Hooks continued.
READ MORE: Twitter instantly bans account for 'Wings Over Scotland Party'
He compared it to the 2015 Tory election poster that depicted then-Labour leader in former first minister Alex Salmond’s pocket, adding: “Ed Miliband being in Alex Salmond’s pocket is not real. ClearChannel said one person complained then the billboard could be taken down so it could have been rejected due to political gatekeeping.”
The posters are part of a total of 18 which were due to go live on Monday but Hooks said the rejected posters had the “strongest messages”.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson to spend almost one whole pound per Scot in pro-Union campaign
He added: “People will be shocked by the ones that come out on Monday. The idea was to be more hard-hitting. People are too busy getting on with things and don’t see what’s happening around them. Westminster do love bombs in Scotland but on the Clyde.”
ItsTime.Scot previously raised more than £13,000 in just four days for Yes billboards based on the idea of Scotland being big enough, rich enough and smart enough to be an independent nation.
A ClearChannel spokesperson said: “Clear Channel takes a neutral stance towards all advertising and has in past run campaigns from across the political spectrum.
"We’ve accepted a booking of ten billboards for ItsTime.Scot, across ten locations in Scotland.
"With all advertising of a political nature, we have additional internal procedures in place, as the UK Advertising Code does not provide clear cut guidelines about what is and isn’t acceptable.
"The majority of campaigns provided by the client were given the go-ahead. We politely declined a small number of campaigns that we felt may provoke a negative response within the communities in which operate.”
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