Well, maybe atheist bus ads in Edmonton

So it wasn’t too clear to me yesterday what was going on with atheist ads in Edmonton. But I’ve figured everything out now.

Basically, the Journal reporter had heard from Pattison (who run the ads in Edmonton) that they don’t do advocacy ads for media stunts. He then called me to see if we (the UAAA) would get all angsty and protest. I told him I’d look into the issue and see what our members thought.

I guess the noncommital response didn’t warrant a story (rightly so), but I still needed to sniff around.

It turns out that Pattison’s real response is that their VP doesn’t like his company being used for media stunts. If we were to do an ad campaign in Edmonton (which is a potential now), it would have to be a real campaign. He is really opposed to the idea of running a lone cheap ad just so some group can get free media press in the local news.

So with all that sorted out, I can now difinitevely say that the “No God” ads are not banned in Edmonton, and may potentially run.

I’ve also put a vote out to the Edmonton Atheists and UAAA on which slogan they’d rather see:

• Humanist Canada‘s “You can be good without God.”
• Freethought Association of Canada “There is probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
• No atheist ads

Results will be in in one weeks time, and then we’ll see what will (or won’t) be seen on Edmonton transit in the near future.

Of course the ads have been banned in Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, and Kelowna, so those struggles continue.