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To help it in a bad economy, the Utah Transit Authority is looking at allowing far more ads in far more places on its trains and buses — but also more tightly controlling sexy ads from lingerie stores, which sometimes bring complaints.
Changes under consideration would still allow the Blue Boutique and Mischievous Pleasures stores to buy transit ads as they have in the past. But it would limit such things as how low cleavage in ads may plunge, and ban some other depictions outright.
Such changes were endorsed Wednesday by the Internal & External Constituencies Committee of the UTA board, which sent it to the full board for consideration.
Andrea Packer, UTA director of communications, said the agency decided to change its advertising policy to allow more ads and generate more money — and decided at the same time to clarify and tighten what sorts of sexy ads it will accept.
Until now, the UTA allowed only four ads inside each TRAX train. But the policy change would eliminate that restriction, and allow ads throughout the train — even on the interior ceiling in ads that are called "Michaelangelos."
Current policy also has allowed exterior advertising "wraps" on no more than 5 percent of its TRAX fleet. The new policy would eliminate that restriction.
The UTA had also banned all advertising inside or outside of coach-style buses used in longer-distance trips, but is dropping that.
"Revenue generation was not as important back then as it is now," when the UTA adopted earlier ad restrictions, said UTA General Manager Michael Allegra.
"Now we need to keep that iron hot," he said. About 80 percent of UTA revenue comes from sales taxes, which have plummeted during the bad economy. At the same time, diesel prices have skyrocketed. So Allegra said greater advertising revenue could help make ends meet.
Still, the committee on Wednesday did not allow ads everywhere, nor of all types — as shown by its special scrutiny for the sexy ads.
The committee declined a proposal to allow ads on floors, worried that it could cause problems with footing in bad weather or with depth perception among some riders.
"If I saw an ad on the floor from Blue Boutique, that would distract me" and possibly make him trip, quipped committee chairman Robert A. Hunter.
The committee endorsed a proposal to adopt new definitions of "nudity," "sexual conduct" and "sexual excitement" that the Legislature passed this year — and ban ads that depict them.
"Our old policy was more vague. This is more specific, and makes more clear what we will accept," Packer said. The definitions passed by the Legislature are so specific that Packer asked the committee not to have her read them, and it looked at the written definitions instead. "I blush easily," she said.
The definitions do such things as prohibit showing some specific parts of breasts or genitals; showing genitals with anything less than an opaque covering; and showing the touching of a person's clothed or bare genitals.
Packer said the UTA has on occasion received complaints about Blue Boutique ads, but said that company has been cooperative in addressing them. For example, she said, a Halloween costume ad by Blue Boutique last year showed "a lot of cleavage," but after complaints it covered most of it.
Packer said the change will "still allow them their First Amendment rights to advertise."