“We are your dating agency!”: Brno Transport Company slogan sparks public outcry
A new campaign by the Brno Transport Company to promote the use of public transport as the backbone of daily mobility has gone right over the top. Its slogans “A place where you can loosen up” or ”We are your dating agency!” have elicited both harsh criticism and jokes at the company’s expense.
How much would it take to get you to leave your car at home and use public transport? Brno has opted for heavy caliber to try to convince the city’s inhabitants that hopping on o bus or tram in the mornings has plenty of advantages. “We are much more than public transport! “ is the main motto of the campaign for which Brno City Transport ordered three and a half thousand leaflets and billboards.
The first phase of the new campaign consists of seventeen different visuals showing passengers on trams and busses engaging in various activities - talking with others, studying, knitting or even doing yoga. The leaflets are always accompanied by an appropriate caption, such as "We are the best place to gossip!", "We are the place to relax!" or "We are your dating agency!".
The latter slogan comes with a picture of an attractive young woman holding onto a handrail and looking ahead of her, while a young man is standing right behind her, looking at her with undisguised admiration. The image caused an outcry with critics slamming the company for encouraging sexual harassment on public transport vehicles instead of fighting it.
Many pointed out that this approach goes directly against a campaign on Prague's public transport, which considers even "staring" at another person excessively long to be harassment.
The Brno Transport Company admitted to receiving “very mixed feedback” on its campaign and promised that the offensive poster would be withdrawn right away and replaced by something more suitable.
"Based on the feedback to our new campaign, we have taken measures reflecting the reactions of some members of the public," said company spokesperson Hana Tomaštíková. “The poster, which points out that it is possible to get acquainted on public transport, proved problematic for some people. We do not take these views lightly," she added.
According to the company, the campaign only meant to show that time on public transport could be well- spent “for rest, relaxation, manual work, reading, studying and similar activities".
The company’s CEO Miloš Havránek, stressed that no offense had been intended, saying that in order to grab people’s attention the company had opted in favour of “a slight exaggeration, witty captions and simplicity”.
The remaining 16 posters are considered to be perfectly in order by the company and will remain as they are. But even some of those have elicited criticism such as the caption ”we are your gym” which might encourage teenagers to behave inappropriately, like swinging on the handrails overhead.
Only one of the captions used in the campaign has proved highly successful and become the butt of many jokes. The claim "A place where you are never alone" is perceived as a witty description of the overcrowded state of Brno public transport.
