A rolling billboard featuring a scantily clad woman and urging students to “Date a sugar daddy” has been ruled illegal, and ordered removed from the streets of Oslo. Not only does the ad violate the country’s marketing laws, it violates a city law against rolling billboards.
Newspaper Aftenposten reported over the weekend that a police directive bans hanging up, placing or transporting posters, notices, advertising or similar material without permission within the city jurisdiction involved. After being reminded of the ban by her predecessor Fabian Stang, Oslo Mayor Marianne Borgen said she had contacted police and that they would remove the billboard, “and I’m glad about that.”
The billboard sparked criticism because it seemed to encourage young female students to date wealthy businessmen in return for shopping, travel or money. The ad’s text suggested female students could have “0- in student loans” if they dated a so-called “sugar daddy.”
Sigurd Vedal, the man behind the online dating service advertised, continued to claim that the ad did not violate sexual equality laws because it was directed at “both women and men.” He told Aftenposten he was not aware of the police directive and would await written instructions from the city.
newsinenglish.no staff
