Flin Flon city council will debate whether a graphic anti-drunk-driving billboard crosses the line.
Local resident Ken Bateman appeared before council Tuesday and expressed concern over his six-year-old daughter seeing an MPI-sponsored sign on Third Avenue.
The billboard shows the head of a man who is lying under a blanket on a stretcher. His face is bloodied and a tube has been inserted into his mouth. The question “Does Your Future Look Bright?” appears above the words “Don’t Drink And Drive.”
Bateman saw the sign as depicting a dead body and questioned whether it is appropriate.
Mark Kolt, chief administrative officer, saw where Bateman was coming from.
“I know that several of the ‘don’t drink and drive, don’t text and drive’ promotions can, I guess, be described diplomatically as hard-hitting, and I understand your concern,” he told Bateman.
Kolt said the city has never had input on the content of billboards erected in the community.
Mayor Cal Huntley had not seen the MPI billboard but said council would have a look.
Asked whether council has jurisdiction to have the sign changed, the mayor said he did not know.
“It would depend. We’re not about censorship, but we need to have a look at it and see if it’s really distasteful, then, as Ken said,” said Huntley. “The idea is for drivers to become aware [of the sign’s message], not necessarily six- and seven-year-old kids if they notice it, so we’ll have a peek.”
If council decides the sign is inappropriate, Huntley said he believed a conversation with the advertiser would likely suffice in having it removed.
Kolt said he didn’t believe the sign was “a whole lot worse” than content appearing on police-related TV shows.
To that, Coun. Colleen McKee said she was concerned about the sign potentially distracting drivers.
MPI spokesman Brian Smiley defended the billboard.
“Some Manitobans may find the images graphic, but it’s important to send a strong message that drinking and driving can be devastating,” he said.
Smiley said all MPI road safety campaigns are tested with the target audience – in this case, young adults.
The results demonstrate that showing “real consequences of poor driving choices has the greatest impact,” he said.
MPI’s Bright Future ad campaign includes TV commercials. Two Red River College students designed a campaign meant to target drivers in their teens and early 20s, Winnipeg radio station CJOB reported.
