Some of the advertisements for an exhibit on science and sexuality have been banned from Vancouver city bus shelters after being deemed too risqué.
The ads promote the "Science of Sexuality" exhibit – an exhibit that explores the science behind sex and sexuality -- on now at Science World. The exhibit is intended for visitors 12 years of age and older.
The ads have caught the public's attention due to their sexually suggestive images and slogans.
In one of the ads, a naked man is pictured on top of a naked woman, whose legs are in casts, with the phrase "Orgasms can kill pain" written across the bottom.
In another, the words "Ejaculation fights colds" are written amid an image of a tissue box surrounded by wads of balled-up tissues.
As a result of their content, two out of three of the ads were rejected for display in the city's bus shelters. One of the ads was approved and all of the images are available online.
Vancouver residents had mixed reviews of the ads.
"I'm 26 and I don't get them," one male resident told CTV British Columbia. "I think they're a little too edgy."
A female resident said she appreciated the attempt to educate viewers, but believed other methods should have been pursued.
"I think they could have been done in a better way," she said.
But the designer of the ads is defending his approach, saying the images are no different than what people can already easily access.
"Every person out there is a channel away from seeing something that's a lot more provocative or a few clicks on the Internet," Justin Li, of Rethink advertising, said.
Science World admits that the ads are controversial, but says that's the whole point.
"In order to appeal to those teens, we have to build advertising which is going to get their attention," Science World President Bryan Tisdall said.
"Clearly if we bring the exhibition in, we then have a responsibility to tell people it's here and to encourage them to come. So the fact that the ads are getting all this attention, we're quite pleased about (that)."
Sceince World says that to date it has not received a single complaint about the ads.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Julie Nolin
