An ad for a "smart" vibrator could not compete for attention with workers washing a building at Van Ness Avenue and Jackson Street in San Francisco. (Patricia Yollin/KQED)

‘Orgasm’ copy on a Bus Shelter Acceptable in San Francisco

How does 'Orgasm' Pass with the 'Censors' in SF?

By OOH TODAY believes all voices, not just the loudest, must be heard Last updated Jul 17, 2018

This ad for a Lioness “smart” vibrator occupies a bus shelter on Pacific Avenue at Polk Street in San Francisco. (Patricia Yollin/KQED)

Revolutionizing the way OOH approaches female sexuality.

I am not sure how to process this story. Seems a bit ‘off’ when compared to the previous post of the company, OkCupid, a dating site, whose copy was ‘banned’ from shelters in Chicago. The banned copy? 3 letters–“DTF.”

In San Francisco, and printed on only a 4 foot by 6 foot sized poster, one thing was clear: “You can see it almost a block away: the word “orgasm” in gigantic letters!”

Orgasm is a word one rarely sees or hears in traditional media ads, broadcast, print or OOH. I suspect in online digital and the privacy of your own ‘desk top’ or lap top, it is not uncommon. So I was a bit surprised to see this design on Outdoor Advertising of any kind. And yet here it is, in San Francisco on transit shelters with Clear Channel.

“You can see it almost a block away: the word “orgasm” in gigantic letters!”

The company is Lioness. The product is a ‘smart data recording vibrator’. Yep, no misprint there. I am not going any further. For more details than that about the product and service, scroll to the bottom of this post for link to KQED news or click here⇒ Orgasm to the Streets of SF

For more about the OOH, stay here.

Liz Klinger, is CEO and co-founder of Lioness, the women’s sexual health company. She shared, in the negotiations with the OOH company, Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) vetoed the words “vibrator” and “vagina,” however “orgasm” made it. How does vibrator and vagina get censored and orgasm acceptable? Can someone explain? Not much doubt that someone at CCO makes these determinations as is the case with most transit agreements. The transit authorities have guidelines but the OOH folks make the call. Community standards?

Further suprising observation is, a full image of the vibrator in the design was not acceptable by Clear Channel. A partial image was. What?? Additionally, all three designs have the same background which is a chart of pelvic-floor vibrations during an orgasm, captured with the Lioness app.

What is not surprising in any way is the good news for Lioness. The ads are working. “Since the ads went up”, Klinger said, “San Francisco traffic on the Lioness website has quadrupled.”