Facebook Rejects Ad for Lesbian Film 'And Then Came Lola'

by Boo Jarchow | Article Date: 04/24/2009 1:35 PM

Facebook has mysteriously rejected an advertisement for the Fast Girl Film's project And Then Came Lola, which stars Jill Bennett, Ashleigh Sumner, and Cathy DeBuono. The photo depicts the three lesbians in what coproducer Ellen Seidler calls the "sandwich shot," a sexy but by no means gratuitous shot of three women holding each other.

Of course, the social networking zeitgeist Facebook employs a slew of guidelines that ads must adhere to in order to be used, but apparently they only apply those guidelines part of the time. Those in charge of Facebook ads rejected the And Then Came Lola advertisement on the following basis:

"The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate. Per sections 3 and 8 of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines, the image on your ad should be relevant and appropriate to the item being advertised. Make sure your image is directly relevant to what you are advertising. Images that are overly explicit, provocative, or that reveal too much skin are not allowed. Images that may either degrade or idealize any health condition or body type are also not allowed. If you choose to submit this ad again, please use an appropriate image that adheres to all of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines."

Here is the ad that Fast Girl Films submitted to Facebook:

Seidler told SheWired that she was using targeted Facebook ads only, which means the And Then Came Lola ads would only appear on pages of women interested in women and women over 18 years of age.

In the Ads FAQ section on Facebook, regarding image disapproval gives a link to the Advertising Guidelines, where they say:

"Facebook is committed to protecting our user experience by keeping the site clean, uncluttered, and free from intrusive advertising. We believe that we can help transform existing advertising on Facebook into tailored messages to our users, because they are based on how their friends interact and affiliate with the brands, music artists, and businesses they care about."

On the Facebook Page for the film, screen grabs of advertisements with straight people shirtless, making out, and in comparable positions to the And Then Came Lola ad are posted. Some ads Facebook has accepted include women's bare legs, one woman swapping spit with a man, and even blood, are all approved. A status update for the film's Page made a point with the question that "blood is ok, but smiles aren't?"

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sarah	view my profile
Friday, April 24 2009 \| 19:30:34
Ridiculous
That must be the most blantant case of a double standard I've yet seen in my middle aged life.

nikki3	view my profile
Friday, April 24 2009 \| 20:25:50
Hm,
maybe they thought the picture was to hot and would induce heart attacks! Then they would be held lible. Jk, Its ignorant, narrow minded things like this that keep us from cohabitating together in a peaceful world. Maybe one day that will change if we all keep pushing forward.

Fastlane	view my profile
Friday, April 24 2009 \| 21:09:37
FACEBOOK GROUP!
In support of the film and in protest to facebook a lot of us have changed our profile pictures to the image shown above and have posted links to it on our walls stating our outrage at the censorship. There is also a facebook group dedicated to making things right.. join the group And then Facebook Shunned Lola! Help get the point across by doing the same!

CruellaDevoid	view my profile
Saturday, April 25 2009 \| 16:41:21
Heh....
It's kind of twisted that facebook wouldn't allow this any face time. But the fact that this happened is going to lead, likely, to a quicker demise than had they stood their ground. It's really sad how a corporation can buckle under the screaming complaints of some ignorant moron.

Kate	view my profile
Sunday, April 26 2009 \| 10:51:42
The arbitrary nature
of Facebooks decision in regards to this is quite suspect. Pretty sure they cannot justify their decision, especially when presidence shows they're allowing other adds of a similar nature to a straight audience.

goddesstopaz	view my profile
Sunday, April 26 2009 \| 20:11:58
Censorship
Call the NY Civil Liberties Union!!! First Amendment rights! This ad is totally inoffensive... actually very tasteful! I think every Lesbitarian will agree. That'll really get the flick some attention!!!

Laura55	view my profile
Monday, April 27 2009 \| 09:32:36
facebook police inconsistent
What the filmmakers call "fun and flirty" I call somewhat racy - it goes beyond "flirty," to me, due to the hand placements. Maybe I just don't flirt like that. Still, I do not find it offensive at all. More offensive is seeing photos of people swapping spit (gay or straight) in an ad and even more offensive is a picture of a colon, a scary 6-eyed baby, Jennifer Aniston's face on every page I go to, and the objectification of women by showing just our body parts, no faces. I'm a straight woman, and this makes me angry too.

goddesstopaz	view my profile
Monday, April 27 2009 \| 13:56:49
Blue Ribbon Online ree Speech Campaign
Join Free Speech Online (if FB doesn't delete this)

coachsappho	view my profile
Tuesday, April 28 2009 \| 06:14:12
facebook rejecting lesbian ads
I have to say this happened to me recently as well. I had been trying to set up a 'fan' group for my singles club for lesbians called Lez Rendezvous. They kept denying me even though I tried it several times. Then I emailed them and got this very generic 'dead end' email that didn't resolve anything. So, as of today, the Lez Rendezvous fan group isn't up on facebook. I assume it's the word 'lez' that's creating the problem. I've heard other lesbian business' say they have groups up there with lesbian in the name without a problem so I don't know what gives! I wonder if the ad for 'And then came Lola' could be toned down a bit. And then resubmit? After all, the most important thing is getting the word out there vs. taking on a fight about the potential discriminatory policy with facebook which maybe should be done but will be a longer term battle. Then again too maybe we can get some of the organizations designed to address this problem to help us? Perhaps a group like Power UP or what's it's name (I am googling right now but can't seem to find the group I am thinking of)....

HersbandAndWife	view my profile
Tuesday, April 28 2009 \| 11:39:54
We were already deleted from FB once waiting on 2nd time
This does not surprise us as they already deleted us from FB once and are now waiting for 2nd time. They said we were too controversial... WHATEVER!! All we have ever done was talk about life and how to deal with it so you don't go crazy. Since when is gay "dear Abby" advice controversial? What cause we tell people the way we think they can work it out? Or because we advocate any type of relationship that makes humans happy with other humans? Who knows.. but we tend to think it is the Gay thing. Check out our page and let us know what you think it may be.. maybe we are wrong, and maybe we are controversial. http://www.hersbandandwife.com

starbuck	view my profile
Tuesday, April 28 2009 \| 15:37:24
update
Was just on 'And Then Came Lola" site on facebook and they have overturned the ruling and are allowing the ad!

Leofire75	view my profile
Wednesday, April 29 2009 \| 03:49:37
Sticking to our guns...
Wonderful news, starbuck!!! The film deserves the same opportunity to reach its intended target as the other approved ads have achieved. The rejection of the ad seemed like a bad and ridiculously lame joke...so glad we got the last laugh. Great to hear FB came to its senses and did the right thing. Nothing like bad press to turn the heat on to change FB's negative reputation. Hopefully, there won't be any similar issues involved with LGBT related ads in the future. Maybe the outcome of this can set a good example. I realize now this wasn't just about FB and combating their insane guidelines. Nor was it just about seeking approval for the ad. And it also wasn't simply about getting a fair deal. Ultimately, it was about sticking to one's guns when faced with opposition. Sometimes you have no choice and are forced to cause a scene, but eventually your voice is heard in the end.