NEW TTC BALLET CAMPAIGN DOESN’T ADEQUATELY REPRESENT TORONOTONIANS?

On October 27^th the TTC unveiled their new partnership with the National Ballet of Canada and named their new ad campaign, We Move You. Torontonians are reacting since then, and some are less than impressed with the new images in the new ad campaign. This backlash shouldn’t be a surprise, I think it’s fair to say the TTC has had their fair share of criticism from the public.

This time around they’re not being slammed for increasing transit fairs or the fact that Line 2 Bloor-Danforth subway cars didn’t have a functioning AC for some of the hottest days this summer. The complaints are surrounding the images presented in the ad campaign that features ballet dancers gracefully dancing in and around TTC buses, subway cars and streetcars.

Some Torontonian’s are speaking out and criticizing the TTC for not representing TTC riders adequately. One TTC rider goes on to say

“My experience as a radicalized woman, as a fat woman, I’ve been called an f-ing fat black b—- on the TTC,” she said. “Is this video really moving me? Is this video at all depicting me on the move?”

“The body types of most ballet dancers do not adequately represent those of most Canadians and, I dare say, most TTC users,” she said.

“This is simply an opportunity to reflect on who is being left out by an ad campaign such as this.”

I can agree slightly with TTC riders feeling as if they’ve been excluded in these ads. Especially when most, if not all of TTC revenue comes from transit fairs from these very riders! Of course they would like to feel some sort of connection or representation from these ads plastered

TTC spokesman Stuart Green states, the TTC is very proud of the images the campaign features and the partnership. He goes on to say “People tend to look at these campaigns as being to cross-promote the various elements that go into making Toronto a vibrant and thriving city,”

Although the TTC didn’t intentionally leave out TTC riders, I’m sure they were expecting some negative feedback about these ads. The co-founder Jill Andrew of Body Confidence Canada Awards put out a statement accusing the TTC of promoting “unrealistic and highly regimented bodies as some sort of an ideal of ‘beauty.”

I can’t fully agree with the notion of the TTC is being necessarily discriminatory to other body types. I think their main focus was the partnership with National Ballet of Canada, It’s kind of a no brainer that most individuals do not have the body type of a ballet dancer so it’s a given they would base there campaign on images that have to do with the ballet. Would it be effective if the TTC’s next ad campaign depicted more realistic and adequate images of Torontonians and TTC riders, absolutely! It still won’t change the change the fact that the new images in the We Move You ad are actually really vibrant and cool!