CBS Blatantly Lied, Blamed MTA for Their Spinelessness

Photo: JayParkinsonMD
So yesterday we reported on Hello Health’s thought bubbled subway ads that drew a lot of attention, literally, and how the MTA supposedly pulled them because they were encouraging graffiti. However, Jeremy Soffin, the transit agency’s press secretary said that while “we don’t like to see advertising that lends itself to vandalize the system,” the MTA did not give the order in this case. “CBS made the call,” explained Soffin. He was referring to CBS Outdoor, the exclusive media managing agency for the MTA’s entire system. So we contacted Benjamin Palmer, the CEO of the creative group that designed the ads, managed the buy on behalf of Hello Health with CBS, and first told us of them being rejected. According to him, the ad contracting rep responsible for the buy, Simon Smith, specifically claimed it was the MTA’s call to pull the ads and then informed the group they would need to submit new creative—since ‘Hello’ is locked into a six-month buy.

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