The Hip-Hop clothing line Akademiks is causing controversy in New York over their racy poster ads that state: “Read Books, Get Brain.” The double meaning of the poster may have confused many but once enraged New York City transit officials caught wind of “Get Brain” as slang for oral sex they vowed to pull ads from city buses.
Akademiks’ ad designer Anthony Harrison told the New York Daily News the “Read Books, Get Brain” catchphrase also appears in English, Spanish and Japanese. “We knew this,” Harrison told the Daily News. “It’s coded language, city slang. Teens know what it means but the general public doesn’t.”
One of the posters shows a boy is reading with a half-dressed lady sitting on his lap. Another features a scantily dressed woman on her knees, holding an open book but not reading it.
Officials have declared that they would remove the ads from city buses, and condemn Akademiks for deceiving them. While the ads are running in Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco, several malls have refused to display the ad.
