Thread: Apparently Google finds my boobs offensive

This is sort of a spin off from my big boobs post...So I made this really cute ad and I added to my google ad words account. I've been waiting for them to approve it and I got shot down...

Here's the ad:


Ad Issue(s): Unacceptable Image/Video Content

I'm ticked. Scratch that, I'm effing pissed. ,m::

whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
insanity!

What?! No further explanation than that?

Hmmm....minors flashing the cameras for Girls Gone Wild, that website where pervy old men buy you breast implants for free....I can think of a million far more offensive uses of mammary tissue I've seen in my lifetime.

Hell, anybody who sees that picture and immediately thinks "BEWBIEZ!!!" is the one who has to get their mind out of the gutter. Nothing about that picture is gratuitous or over the top to me.

Unfortunately, I think we could all pay the price for what happened with the Craigslist Killer. The Internets is cracking down on "erotic services," and I'm afraid this might be an opportunity for the Moral Police to come after us, as well.

That's ridiculous, Andalee. You're such a beautiful, classy girl. Cheer up!

they are such...unbelieveably and utterly *opens thesaurus* "out to lunch" pointless unthinking witless half-baked ill-adviced BLOCKHEADS! ahh...i feel better now. still, you get more flesh on early morning kids TV that on this ad!
xx
Athena

I'm going to e-mail them and see if there are other things about the ad that I could change in order to get it approved. They didn't mention my boobs officially but I am assuming that is their problemo. However, I refuse to change the picture because it is NOT inappropriate. At least my text ads are showing.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

This is sort of a spin off from my big boobs post...So I made this really cute ad and I added to my google ad words account. I've been waiting for them to approve it and I got shot down...

Here's the ad:


Ad Issue(s): Unacceptable Image/Video Content

I'm ticked. Scratch that, I'm effing pissed. ,m::

Oooo you rude girl..adult only content.
The Puritan Taliban branch of Google were obviously in charge on the day>

OK, now I am really really pissed! Their official words:

"Currently, we do not allow image or video ads containing adult content. As noted in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we accept on our site. "

All of you wordsmithing folks out there, help me draft a complaint!

That is beyond horrifying.

Presumably they consider it adult content because it has ... what? I think it would be genuinely helpful if they explained to you why that is considered adult. Is it cleavage? Is it the words "belly dance"? Is it the words "girls' night in?"

There is not one thing in that ad that you could not see in a mainstream clothing catalogue or magazine.

Give me a little more time for the caffeine to kick in... you might want to tell them about how you perform at family-friendly events, how BD is learned in the homes in the ME, how there are BDers at church pageants, cruise ships, EPCOT and other family-friendly venues. Just a start.

I'm telling you, though....I think we could see a lot more of this crap. Along with the more stringent regulations placed on "adult services" ads on the Internet. Google probably doesn't want to be in deep doo-doo like Craigslist is, so they probably hired their own Nipple Detector Squad to help the general public protect themselves against themselves so we don't ALL die at the hands of psychotic killers. (Not to make light of the Craigslist Killer situation - nobody deserves what happened to that poor woman and her family, no matter what their walk of life. And I hope that guy has a nice life in prison). Unfortunately, our civil liberties suffer in light of preventable tragedies

How annoying.

I'm trying to get my The Boudoir Book offering personal boudoir photography by an all female team. Boudoir photography (not boudior) based in Liverpool City centre offering Boudoir Photography for real women of ALL ages. The Boudoir book - the best in Boudoir photography site listed on the local business thingy on google and it's flagged as "waiting for content check". It's got no chance if Andalee's pics can't go on. There are boobs everywhere. Damn and tarnations.

Andalee, that sucks. You look lovely and very respectable. All it is is a cleavage, for god's sake. We see them all the time.

Oops sorry that weblink came up with that stupid big sentence. At least google might pick it up though!

It's wrong. Just wrong.

however, what if you took out the picture of you in the blue costume (which has the most cleavage) and replaced it with a picture of you smiling in a folkloric dress? Would that make it less "adult"? The gold costume pic is gorgeous but doesn't show as much boobage.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

This is sort of a spin off from my big boobs post...So I made this really cute ad and I added to my google ad words account. I've been waiting for them to approve it and I got shot down...

Here's the ad:


Ad Issue(s): Unacceptable Image/Video Content

I'm ticked. Scratch that, I'm effing pissed. ,m::

I got the same thing for my first myspace ad a couple of months ago. I had to change the picture *and* email back and forth with them to argue that I wasn't rated R or X, not even actually PG-13.*sigh*

Originally Posted by mahsati

I got the same thing for my first myspace ad a couple of months ago. I had to change the picture *and* email back and forth with them to argue that I wasn't rated R or X, not even actually PG-13.*sigh*

Would you mind sharing the original photo with me? I just want to see how similar it is to mine.

I could swap out the picture, but I am not going to. I'd rather not have my ads run than to compromise with these zealots.

wow that's insane

"Girls Night In" might be the problem since it is possible that someone might misinterpret what it really is. Maybe change belly dance to oriental dance. The words themselves might be flagging it and not the images.

This is what I came up with. I only had 512 characters:

"My image ads were denied due to adult content. My ad is NOT inappropriate. The ad shows a woman in a traditional bellydance costume. Bellydance is a family-friendly art form open to all ages and cultures. I am representing this art in a respectful way. If you visit the URL that my ad links to, you will see there is no adult content on my website. I realize that ads are approved at your discretion, however please educate yourselves about the art and costuming of bellydance before you label it adult content."

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

Would you mind sharing the original photo with me? I just want to see how similar it is to mine.

I could swap out the picture, but I am not going to. I'd rather not have my ads run than to compromise with these zealots.

Sure - I didn't see anything wrong with mine either. I started with this pic: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/...a932695fc4.jpg and had to change it to this one to get my ad published: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/...3303533850.jpg

I haven't run an ad with them since - it was just too annoying. I am considering doing it again, but just not sure I want to deal with the hassle

I think you look gorgeous in both of them...but the fact that you had to change a picture to completely eliminate all hint of breasts is just awful. These people! Arg!

Andalee, I think the photo in the blue bedlah is warm and accessible and family friendly although I can understand that cleavage might not say that some people. The other photo, while we dancers understand it, may look too risque to them because it portrays emotion while wearing a bra. Go figure.

Meanwhile, there are celebrity boobies all over the place!

Ridiculous...ugh, I am so sick of having to explain belly dance to all of the morons out there....I thought it was a nice ad!

I'm sitting here looking at all your pictures Andalee and Mahsati with my jaw on the floor! You both look great-- and you also look kind, warm, accessable and not the least bit 'X' Rated. And like normal females.

I mean, I can't do a search for squat on Google without getting bombarded with unwanted beavage, buttage and boobage--- all being sported by what look like 14 year old girls on the verge of the big O.

Or other such 'joyous' pictures (oy, what some folks think is sexy is just purely stupid.)

Yet they have trouble with you guys!?!?! THE IDIOTS!

Sheesh, I mean---- tell them you'll get a letter from your Priest (pastor) if they need it. /sarc.

Frankly I think Mahsati's second, "acceptable" photo looks way more provocative. How ludicrous. Why are people afraid of breasts? Especially ones that are largely covered?

wow, they would get a REALLY ANGRY PISSED OFF customer email if that was me

the add is beautifully done btw!!!
wished i could make nice adds like that!

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

I'm going to e-mail them and see if there are other things about the ad that I could change in order to get it approved. They didn't mention my boobs officially but I am assuming that is their problemo. However, I refuse to change the picture because it is NOT inappropriate. At least my text ads are showing.

OMG. what adult content. at this point i'd even try to get someone on the phone... and strart talking about being "offended myself now at being called a whore". how dare they. how horrible.

where's lauren, she's great at effective polite yet direct email answers to wankers.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

OK, now I am really really pissed! Their official words:

"Currently, we do not allow image or video ads containing adult content. As noted in our advertising terms and conditions, we reserve the right to exercise editorial discretion when it comes to the advertising we accept on our site. "

All of you wordsmithing folks out there, help me draft a complaint!

i'm also thinking they think "girls night in" is something else

Originally Posted by Souzan

"Girls Night In" might be the problem since it is possible that someone might misinterpret what it really is. Maybe change belly dance to oriental dance. The words themselves might be flagging it and not the images.

If it were me, I'd be mighty POed, too.

However, looking at this for a moment from the perspective of Google - chances are, that there is a low-end person dealing with this, and chances are that this person may be out of a job if s/he lets through an adult ad by accident, flagging one too many bellydancer ads as adult is probably a good strategy to keep employed. And, chances are that they don't have a lot of time to decide. I bet that this is simply a case of economics backfiring. And, it may also be a cost-benefit tradeoff: A POed bellydancer causes less damage than POed customers whose kids get adult ads displayed. All of this has nothing to do with the victim, or for that matter with bellydance being considered bad. Blame the adult industry for flooding Google and for trying whatever tricks they can for slipping one through.

The best choice may be to get a phone number, ask for a supervisor and nicely explain the problem.

Originally Posted by steffib

If it were me, I'd be mighty POed, too.

However, looking at this for a moment from the perspective of Google - chances are, that there is a low-end person dealing with this, and chances are that this person may be out of a job if s/he lets through an adult ad by accident, flagging one too many bellydancer ads as adult is probably a good strategy to keep employed. And, chances are that they don't have a lot of time to decide. I bet that this is simply a case of economics backfiring. And, it may also be a cost-benefit tradeoff: A POed bellydancer causes less damage than POed customers whose kids get adult ads displayed. All of this has nothing to do with the victim, or for that matter with bellydance being considered bad. Blame the adult industry for flooding Google and for trying whatever tricks they can for slipping one through.

The best choice may be to get a phone number, ask for a supervisor and nicely explain the problem.

Most likely there is an application that flags potential problems and then a human takes a look. Belly dance may be one of their flagged terms. Or possibly the word "girls."

Originally Posted by artemisia_danst

where's lauren, she's great at effective polite yet direct email answers to wankers.

Thanks for the compliment, but this time I'm just so flabbergasted, I'm speechless.

I don't think it's got anything to do with the cleavage, personally (though maybe in the process of negotiation, switching to a less-cleavage image will help).

I think it's because whoever reviewed the ad thinks 'bellydance' is part of the sex industry. Period. Your e-mail should set them straight on that.

A local Borders Bookstore manager told me my show flyer was 'too risque' even though it only showed dancers backs! ,f::

Maybe they all saw that episode of Sex & The City that pissed me off so much last week, with the mention of 'lapdances' and 'left all my money in the bellydancers crotch' or whatever.

..c::

Seriously,
"Girls" might be the flag, (Girls Gone Wild, Bad Girls, etc etc)