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.
F the Rams and F the @nfl. #implodeNOW
— brendan_wood (@brendan_wood) March 28, 2016
New L.A. Rams billboard fires brutal shot at STL https://t.co/0VXuM8VAxl via @@KSDKNEWS
I did not sanction this billboard. I live in Los Angeles, but I still love my former hometown of St. Louis!!!... https://t.co/oOyisv9KoE
— Rod Simmons (@ActorRod) March 28, 2016
I'm a fan of gutsy #advertising, but this is just foul. https://t.co/gmECPrmmZy #Rams
— Donte Ledbetter (@Donte_LL) March 28, 2016
Others were a little more conflicted about the ad.
Ouch. But true. #LARAMS https://t.co/dO3qkPUawb pic.twitter.com/W1PuT0yzqa
— Jeff Gorell (@JeffGorell) March 27, 2016
Funny ... or too soon? Weigh in on this billboard, @RamsNFL fans https://t.co/URpKAFMW4T via @NFLonFOX #NFL
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) March 28, 2016
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."
Our city, our billboard, our rules. No Apologies. Welcome to LA @RamsNFL #PopularDemand pic.twitter.com/s2ltmnxuyK
— Popular Demand (@PopularDemand) March 18, 2016
Reminder: our lifestyle is "No Apologies"...not "Be Polite"
— Popular Demand (@PopularDemand) March 28, 2016
Loading comments...