Cardiff has become the latest city to ban public advertisements for gay hook-up app and website, Squirt.org.

After residents complained about Squirt.org’s “inappropriate” and “disgusting” ad campaign which features two men and the slogan “non-stop hook-ups”, Cardiff City Council quickly removed posters from bus stops in the city.

Despite the outrage, Clear Channel, the advertising company that deals with the bus stop displays say that the campaign was pre-vetted by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).

A spokesperson for Clear Channel said,

“We carefully evaluate all of the advertising we carry on our sites. The advertising we currently carry for Squirt.Org was pre-vetted by the ASA before being displayed, and is part of a nationwide campaign.

“Following a request from our partners at Cardiff city council, we removed two of the Squirt.Org advertisements in the city centre.

“The council has a contract with Clear Channel for the maintenance of bus shelters throughout the city. This includes managing advertising displays.

“Following a complaint about advertising that was considered inappropriate on two bus shelters on St Mary Street and Castle Street, the Council contacted Clear Channel and the posters have now been removed.”

 

It’s not the first time that Squirt.org has been caught in controversy over it’s sexually suggestive ad campaigns. Previously, similar ads were removed from billboards and public transport in Dallas, Toronto and Calgary.

Responding to the complaints, a spokesperson from Squirt.org said, “Our campaign has run in many cities in the UK, including Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London, so we are very disappointed to see the reaction of the Cardiff council based on complaints from a few residents.

“Our ads have been approved by the ASA, and we’ve been adhering to those guidelines completely. With this in mind, we will continue to do everything we can to get our advert seen.”