Posted on 07/20/2016 8:16:22 AM PDT by Sgt_Schultze
Ocean City Communications Manager Jessica Waters said on Tuesday the flap caused by the controversial political messages resulted in a quick decision to stop flying them over the crowded mid-July beach.
Mayor Rick Meehan said during Mondays council meeting resort officials had received hundreds of emails about the somewhat controversial ads, which included messages such as Stop Mad Cow Disease-Defeat Hillary, and America First-Build The Wall Now,
Meehan said he reached out to Ocean Aerial Ads and owner-operator Bob Bunting about the controversial ads and the company, which has been flying over the resort skies, for decades, made the decision to pull them.
We learned about the political ads on the banner planes yesterday afternoon when we began getting emails from concerned citizens via the towns website, she said. Shortly after learning about the political ads, the mayor received a call from Mr. Bunting who explained his decision not to fly any more political banners due to the controversy it was causing.
(Excerpt) Read more at mdcoastdispatch.com ...
This is pretty outrageous that advertising is being scuttled because of complaints. I doubt that Fakebook, Gargle and Twatter will be responsive to conservative complaints about them cheering their leftist candidate.
They’d be fine if they were Hillary’s ads.
Yup.
Free speech dies in Ocean City.
Add slamming Trump = cute and funny.
Add slamming Hillary = outrageous and must be banned.
Hey it’s the one party state, Maryland my home state I left in 1960, don’t let having a republican (alleged) governor fool you.
Heh, heh, heh
Actually it’s not very business smart. Why alienate half of your customers?
But don’t be surprised seeing “Trump is a Nazi” sign flying around soon.
So a few concerned citizens can outweigh the laws duly passed. I see.
Left-speak for "the liberals currently in power threatened the man". Permits all in order?
We learned about the political ads on the banner planes yesterday afternoon when we began getting emails from concerned citizens via the towns website, she said. Shortly after learning about the political ads, the mayor received a call from Mr. Bunting who explained his decision not to fly any more political banners due to the controversy it was causing.
Interpretation: A couple of forever-offended SJW's sent in emails whining about the "hate-in-the-sky" and since it dovetailed well with our liberal bent we ran with it to oppress those uncouth republicans. d;^) That is all..
I would think that if the advertising plane was out over the ocean then it would be outside of Ocean City’s jurisdiction, am I wrong?
States have jurisdiction up to three miles out, too far for banner to be effective. One phone call from O.C. to Annapolis is all that would be needed.
Nice business ya got there, Mr. Bunting.....wanna keep it?
A Mayor should not be calling and threatening (that IS what was done, even if there was no horse head) a business over the First Amendment.
States might have jurisdiction 3 miles out but Ocean City sure does not. I’ll bet the money behind the first add will find someone with guts willing to fly.
One phone call from O.C. to Annapolis is all that would be needed.
Your come-back is EXACTLY why I included that sentence.
The Bunting family who owns the airplane ad service is ingrained in this town. Technically the local waters include 3 miles offshore, outside of that is federal.
This is a place where people come to get away from the distractions of life and enjoy the beach for a few days. It was a business decision to stop running the ads. The politics here in the county are generally Republican (Trump had a rally at the local high school several months ago), but the town of Ocean City is mainly concerned about the tourist dollar and that is where the interests of politicians in town are focused. Why upset potentially 50% of your customers?
I live here and I don’t really want to see Hillary or Trump airplane ads when sitting on the beach or my deck. But that is just me.
Which half are you referring to?
Frankly, it’s a smart business move on the plane owner’s part. People go to Ocean City, or any beachside resort town, to get away from the cares of the world and just have fun. I know that I have no desire to see political ads when I’m on vacation, and I’ll bet plenty of other people feel the same way.
Besides, I’m sure this guy accepts a lot of advertising from people who lean left. (This is, after all, Maryland.) It’s easy for us to tell him to suck it up and fly the Trump ads; we’re not the ones responsible for making sure that his customers are happy and thus he earns enough business to pay his bills and feed his family.
If any elected officials pressured him in any way to stop the ads, that would be outrageous. But if he chose to do it on his own accord . . . it’s his business, and it’s his decision to make.
From a business stand point it doesn’t matter. My dad always told me: Never insult the customer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.