Hong Kong’s Airport Authority joins MTR Corp in reversing ban on Cathay Pacific same-sex ad after LGBT outcry
- MTR Corp to allow advert of same-sex couple at metro stations
- Airport Authority quickly follows suit in overturning ban
Hong Kong’s airport operator has followed its railway counterpart in reversing a ban on a Cathay Pacific advertisement featuring a same-sex couple.
The Airport Authority overturned its position on Tuesday, hours after a reversal by the MTR Corporation.
In a statement, the authority, which operates Hong Kong International Airport, said the advert did not breach the company’s “established guidelines”, but refused to disclose that exact criteria.
The authority said it had “informed its agency for handling advertisement applications that the authority deems the visual does not infringe established guidelines on advertisements displayed in the terminal.”
Hong Kong’s railway operator had pulled a U-turn earlier on Tuesday, instructing its French advertising handler, JCDecaux, to reflect its position on equal opportunities and diversity by allowing the same-sex advert to be displayed at metro stations across the city.
In a response to the Post at 3am on Tuesday, the MTR Corp’s advertising handler confirmed the advert could now be displayed at MTR stations.
“We have been in contact with the relevant advertising agency and have just confirmed to the agency that the advertisement in question can be displayed at MTR stations,” a JCDecaux spokeswoman said in a statement.
MTR Corp attempts to salvage reputation as shifts blame to agency in face of outrage
The city’s LGBT community had reacted sharply to the ban. An online campaign condemned the MTR Corp and the airport for banning the same-sex advert.
Activists called on Hongkongers to take photos holding a picture of the banned advert at MTR stations and the airport, and to post the photos on social media.
As of Monday evening, the MTR Corp said it “requested the agency to fully consider the corporation’s commitment to equal opportunities and diversity when it considers advertisements in the future”.
The change of policy was later agreed upon.
[The] Airport Authority’s response on this was terrible
“In the future, we will pay due regard to the MTR Corporation’s commitment to equal opportunities and diversity when handling the placement of advertisement,” the JCDecaux statement said.
“He told me that MTR has been embracing diversity and that the incident this time was really a decision made by the advertising agency,” Chan said on Tuesday.
“He said the MTR was innocent this time. I told him that the ad agency worked for the MTR and that it was indeed MTR’s business that the agency failed to do its job properly.”
“While our current advertisement placement at Hong Kong International Airport and MTR stations will soon come to an end, we are working closely with our production agencies to expedite the display of the said visual.”
