September 3, 2011 | Online

Gay ad too much for LinkedIn

A gay travel book ad has been pulled from the networking site LinkedIn for containing “inappropriate content or language.”

The issue is a little unclear. Was LinkedIn reacting to the use of the words "tops and bottoms," or the suggestive letter A? (Look closely and the A is actually two men fucking. Clever!)

"It’s baffling," said Robert Christofle at Open Mic Press/Icon Empire Press, adding that no other site on which the ad appears has objected.

He received an e-mail explaining the decision to drop the ad, but said it left him even more confused. According to the email, “common examples of inappropriate content include: phone numbers, excessive punctuation and unprofessional language.” Christofle countered that none of these reasons apply to his ad.

As for the naughty letter A, Christofle admitted, “It's very tongue in cheek." 

“LinkedIn is a professional networking platform and, as such, there has never been a place on it for ads that feature or promote explicit sexual content or products of any kind,” spokesperson Danielle Restivo argued. 

"We just want to dispel any notion that this has anything to do with sexual orientation. It 100 percent does not,” she added. "It’s the wording, the imagery or the site to where the ad links.” 

She explained that in this case, the issue was over wording and the ad's link.

“The link is not sexual," Christofle said. "It's to the book-sales page."

LinkedIn pulls gay ad [Xtra]