Loja ‘meat market’ billboard taken down following social media and radio protests

The billboard posted near the Technical University campus in Loja.

On the order of Loja Mayor José Castillo, a billboard showing a model caressing a bloody chunk of beef was removed by city workers Monday afternoon. The sign, paid for by a local meat market and bearing the catch-line “Tenemos el mismo sabor” (“We have the same flavor”), had drawn angry reactions on social media and talk radio shows.

Castillo agreed that the sign, which appeared near the entrance of Loja’s Technical University, was offensive to women. “It is an outrage not just to women but to all people who respect human dignity and common sense. I will not tolerate this kind of trash on our streets.”

The mayor asked the police department to begin an immediate review of rules governing billboard advertising and to propose new ones, if necessary, to “protect the dignity of all citizens.”

Much of the anger on Loja social media networks was aimed at the model who appeared on the billboard. “She may feel that she is not worth more than a piece of meat and obviously she will do anything for a dollar, even smear herself with blood,” wrote one commenter on a Facebook group page. “She does not speak for me or any of my sisters,” the comment continued.