New Billboard Wildly Claims LA is Greater Than St. Louis

Now that the Rams have returned to Los Angeles, leaving the city of St. Louis with an empty stadium and $144 million of debt, residents of the Gateway to the West probably aren't in the mood to hear about their city's inferiority. That, however, didn't stop an LA-based retailer from putting up a new billboard in Hollywood that's been drawing scorn from social media users for most of the day.

The advertisement, paid for by Popular Demand, simply reads: "Los Angeles>St. Louis," followed by "Welcome to LA, guys." Now, by many metrics (area, total population, number of hours residents spend sitting in traffic), LA is in fact greater than St. Louis by a significant margin, but that didn't stop Missourians and Californians alike from speaking out against the insensitivity of the billboard's message.

Others were a little more conflicted about the ad.

Not shying away from the controversy the billboard has stirred up, Popular Demand refused to apologize for the message and seems to be enjoying all of the attention it's gotten. Update: CEO Blake Ricciardi said that he was proud of the strong reaction the ad has provoked, and that he was sticking by the statement. "Our message was simple," he said. "We felt that the Rams made a great choice to move their team here. This is the best city in the world. It wasn’t a joke at all."

• A new Los Angeles Rams billboard is just plain mean to St. Louis [Washington Post]
• The Rams Are Coming Back to Los Angeles, and the Chargers Might Join Them [Curbed LA]
• Take a Good Look Around Los Angeles's Future NFL Stadium [Curbed LA]