MTA's Sex Toy Ad Ban Draws Fire From Brooklyn Firm

NEW YORK — A Brooklyn sex toy company is condemning an MTA policy that bans it from advertising its wares in the subway.

Williamsburg-based Dame Products got the green light for subway ads depicting one of its toys in early October, said the company's CEO Alexandra Fine. But the MTA rejected its campaign about two months later, saying it prohibits all ads for sex toys because they promote a "sexually oriented business," according to a Dec. 3 memo from the agency.

That stance marks a shift from the MTA's position last spring when it publicy announced it would let another sex toy retailer, Unbound, advertise in the system. But that campaign never got off the ground either, according to Unbound's CEO.

To Fine, the MTA's position makes little sense because subway cars are covered with ads for other sexual health companies such as Roman, Hims and Hers, which sell birth control and medicine that treats erectile dysfunction. Dame launched an online campaign Tuesday to convince the MTA to let its ads run.

"Why are objects that create physical pleasure not OK but drugs that create physical pleasure are OK?" Fine said. "Where is this line? Who’s deciding?"

The MTA similarly rejected Unbound ads this spring that subtly depicted sex toys among colorful scenes. After artists who worked on the campaign criticized the move, the MTA said it would direct its advertising partner, Outfront Media, to work with the company to get ads in place.

Dame reached out to Outfront to launch its own subway ad campaign soon after that resolution, Fine said. After about two and a half months of talks, she said, Outfront gave Dame the go-ahead for two ads showing hands holding a sex toy with different slogans, such as "Toys for Sex."

Dame submitted finalized ads in early November that were different, but still included sex toys and similar language, according to Fine. A few weeks later, on Nov. 26, the company got word that the ads actually could not run.

Several days earlier, on Nov. 15, the MTA had published an updated list of "Frequently Asked Questions" about its advertising policy. It flatly stated that ads for sex toys or devices are not allowed — despite a spokesman's public statement six months before that it would accommodate Unbound's campaign.

"The MTA Advertising Policy prohibits any advertisement that promotes a 'sexually oriented business,' and advertisements for sex toys or devices for any gender fall within this category," the document reads.

Neither the FAQ list nor the advertising policy give a specific definition of a sexually oriented business. The MTA has not run ads for sex toys in the past but has allowed advertising for sexual medications for men and women, including a female libido enhancer sold by Hers.

"The MTA has a long-standing policy that prohibits advertising promoting a sexually oriented business," MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said in a statement responding to Dame. "This decision was reached after careful review and is consistent with the advertising standards set by the MTA Board."

Unbound ultimately never got MTA approval for its subway ads despite its apparent victory in May, said Polly Rodriguez, the company's CEO and co-founder.

Unbound was asked to remove all "phallic imagery" from its materials after the first ads were rejected, Rodriguez said — a condition the firm considered a "total double standard" given that one Hims ad features a highly suggestive cactus.

The company resubmitted its artwork but Outfront requested more changes, Rodriguez said. "It was in that moment we realized we didn't want to give them potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars," she said in an email.

Fine and fellow Brooklyn resident Janet Lieberman founded Dame about five years ago after a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign for their first vibrator. The company aims to "make tools that help humanity evolve its relationship with sexuality," Fine said.

Fine said she is frustrated by the apparent lack of logic behind the MTA's standards. The blanket ban on sex toy ads disproportionately affects women and other people with vulvas because the industry predominantly caters to them, she said.

"The MTA’s policy — probably not intentionally, but unintentionally — is saying that it’s important for you as a human being to be able to functionally have sex and want to have sex," Fine said. "You could be taking drugs to make you hornier. But using a vibrator ... is not an acceptable way to enjoy that sex or want to have that sex."

Dame has tried unsuccessfully to get answers from the MTA about its ad policy, Fine said. She said she even emailed New York City Transit President Andy Byford, who was sympathetic but told her the matter was not in his purview.

"Obviously his main priority is to get people from point A to point B — which is ours, too," Fine said.

(Lead image: Photo by Maria Cormack-Pitts/Patch)