Clear Channel Censors Pregnancy Ad

we’re still fighting the double standards that unjustly regulate our bodies,

by Amber Larkins, OOH Today

Influencer Molly Baz showed off her pregnant body on billboards in Times Square, until Clear Channel flagged the ads and replaced them. The billboard showed Baz holding lactation cookies over her breasts and nothing to hide her pregnant belly.

But lingerie ads of non-pregnant women are often prominently featured in Times Square? Baz referenced this in a post to her followers: “Bring on the lingerie so long as it satiates the male gaze.”

Probiotic company Seed’s cofounder Ara Katz saw the controversy around the censorship online and was outraged.

“I couldn’t believe in that in 2024, we’re still fighting the double standards (among other issues) that unjustly regulate our bodies,” Katz said.

Seed set a plan in motion to give Baz back her space in Times Square. The company informed Baz and Swehl just hours before Seed delivered the creative. By the next morning, the campaign was live, using donated space from Seed.

But why was it okay for the ad to run in Times Square in Seed’s space? The original ad was run on a billboard in Times Square owned by Clear Channel, which had removed the creative citing “guidelines on acceptable content.” But Seed’s billboard space is operated by Lightyear Media, which not only agreed to bring the ad back but also provided additional ad inventory for free so the ad would get more air time and visibility.

Katz and the team at Seed didn’t know Baz —why did they donate their space?

“We just did what felt true to us in the moment. That’s the beautiful thing about knowing who you are, whether you’re planning a launch a year out or need to act within hours,” Katz said. “We work in the microbiome, a field of science that forces us to rethink and redefine much of what we know about health. In this same spirit, we are a first principles brand—always questioning, challenging norms, and, yes, even being a bit rebellious from time to time.”

The censorship of the original ad sparked such a response from the OOH community that Baz and Swehl received support from not only Seed, but OUTFRONT, Vistar Media, Keystone Outdoor, and others. In an Instagram post Baz thanks them all saying, “The support we’ve seen and energy we feel from all of you around setting the record straight on the topic of censorship and celebrating the pregnant body is UNBELIEVABLE. I am so so so grateful and relieved to know that in a world of hypocrisy, the good folks always rise up.”