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'South Carolina Is So Gay' advert stays
South Carolina's So Gay
Row rages on over controversial 'South Carolina Is So Gay' advert
"The finger of blame has been pointed at numerous people during what has been a turbulent time for the agency, the tourist board and the state"
The row over the 'South Carolina Is So Gay’ advertising campaign continues to rage as the South Carolina tourism director said the adverts would not be pulled.
Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Director Chad Prosser said the agency had no authority to ask the ads be removed as the contract was undertaken through a third-party British vendor.
Prosser said: "There was nothing that could be done to pull it. The campaign was going to end before that whole chain of events could take place”
He continued, saying that he hadn’t asked the ads to be removed for a number of reasons, including concerns about the advertising and tour companies abusing its publicity and that the campaign had been run to coincide with last month’s gay pride events in London, and had nearly finished its run.
When the advert garnered poor publicity in South Carolina, Prosser announced he would not pay the vendor, prompting the South Carolina Pride Movement to raise £2,500 to pay the debt. The Movement will also be launching their own campaign ‘South Carolina WILL BE ‘So Gay’’ on their website.
The finger of blame has been pointed at numerous people during what has been a turbulent time for the agency, the tourist board and the state.
The advert was originally approved by what was claimed to be a ‘low-level’ modifier. However said modifier has since been revealed as agency international marketing manager Rand Romaine.
