It’s in the news! The Executive Building Center, which is a landmark in the intersection of Makati Avenue and Gil Puyat (formerly Buendia) Avenue, instantly drew more attention than usual when the digital billboard on top of it flashed a quick porn video on Tuesday (March 20, 2018).
The video featured a man humping on top of a partner. It was flashed around 2 p.m. and lasted about 33 seconds—enough for some motorists to take photos and videos and disseminate those across Facebook within hours. As of press time, the social networking site has already pulled down most of those videos, citing pornographic content, which is restricted in its network.
Screengrab from FB account of Mulong Sermonia
By the end of the day, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay ordered the digital billboard operator to temporarily stop flashing ads on the giant screen until an investigation is completed.
Such instances happen. Elsewhere around the globe, there have been worse and more controversial public broadcasts of porn materials through giant electronic billboards. Here are some of the most talked about in the past years.
Mexico City
An electronic billboard along Periferico Sur in Mexico City broadcasted pornographic videos in the afternoon of March 3, 2017. Advertising firm Grupo Carteleras was quick to apologize through its Twitter account and said its system had been hacked.
The video mostly featured a naked woman performing various acts using a sex toy. As a usual and expected reaction, many motorists seemed to be enjoying the surprising big-screen show as they slowed down. In a matter of minutes, videos and photos of the blunder were posted across the social media.
The authorities simply urged the billboard owner to reinforce tighter security measures to prevent the same incident from happening again. Ironically, similar digital billboard incident happened earlier in the city on February 8, 2017, just several days before this.
Atlanta, Georgia
In May 9, 2015, drivers and passersby in the intersection of Peachtree Road and East Paces Perry within Buckhead in Atlanta were shocked when an electronic billboard suddenly displayed pornographic images of a naked man.
Some drivers called 911 to seek immediate action and some policemen were prompt to instantly cut the power to force-shut down the billboard. The Outdoor Advertising Association was quick to issue a statement reiterating the industry’s stringent protocols to avoid hacking of digital billboards. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stepped in to probe the cause of the blunder.
Jakarta, Indonesia
Being a Muslim-majority nation, access to porn sites is restricted in Indonesia. Even kissing scenes in movies and TV shows are censored. Ironically, an adult movie was flashed in a huge digital billboard (locally known as videotron) during a Friday afternoon rush hour in the country’s capital, Jakarta on September 29, 2016.
The Japanese porn movie ‘Watch Tokyo Hot’ was exhibited on the billboard screen near the city mayor’s office for about 10 minutes. The power was then cut off but not before the steamy scenes of a couple in a steamy tryst were recorded on smartphone videos by numerous motorists and passersby. Of course, they created a wave on social media.
In less than a week, a 24-year-old IT professional was arrested and was charged for allegedly hacking into the computer system controlling the billboard. The man admitted responsibility for this crime and said out of boredom, he carried out what was supposed to be a prank after seeing login details displayed on the billboard itself. The offense usually incurs a prison term of up to 6 years in Jakarta.
Jilin City, China
In the evening of August 26, 2013, IT technician Yuan Mou got too comfortable in his apartment in Kaixuan building in Jilin City, China. He then decided to watch an adult film entitled ‘Xin Jin Ping Mei’ (‘The Forbidden Legend: Sex and Chopsticks’). He admitted that he had not realized then that the PC was still connected to the billboard.
The erotic movie had a public viewing for about 10 minutes before local authorities were able to shut off the screen. Based on the investigation, Mou was supposed to fix the billboard, which had been experiencing technical glitches for several weeks already that time. It was not clear if Mou was charged of any crime.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Motorists and passersby in the junction of Cabildo and Juramento streets in the city had a shock of their lives when gay hardcore porn was flashed in a giant advertising screen.
The scene that showed a man doing another man prompted pedestrians to get their mobile phones to get snaps of the odd exhibition in the billboard. As expected, video posts went viral on social media a few hours later.