The City of Toronto says it is sticking with its campaign ad that has TTC riders scratching their heads.
Last week, a transit campaign developed by the city caught the attention of riders and prompted the question: “Who was behind this?”
The ad reads, “Downing a bubble tea, but won’t shut down the hate? Let’s end Anti-East Asian racism.”
One viral tweet made the rounds and was viewed over 15 million times as of publication.
Some Torontonians weren’t really feeling it and the once serious ad, became an overnight meme.
Some said it was ironically racist, while others pointed out that other Asian demographics were erased completely.
Now Toronto reached out to the city to ask who was consulted and how the ad came to be.
City of Toronto Spokesperson Shane Gerard says the city tapped in with a committee to make sure everything went smoothly.
“Discussions and dialogue including online engagement is one of the overarching goals of the Toronto For All campaign – a public education initiative intended to support Torontonians in speaking out against discrimination and racism,” he said in an email statement.
Gerard shares that the city partnered with the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice who co-developed the ad with the support and guidance of a community advisory council.
In fact, the City worked with 11 community groups over several months in 2023 to “better understand issues faced by East Asian communities in Toronto and co-develop campaign materials based on their experiences and feedback.”
The partnership saw three different illustrations that highlight East Asian influences in Toronto, enjoyed outside of East Asian communities.
This includes drinking bubble tea, listening to K-pop and learning to speak Mandarin.
“Through discussions with this advisory circle, the campaign was developed to urge those who appreciate aspects of a culture or cultures to become allies and speak out. The City heard from members of East Asian communities that they continued to experience discrimination coming out of the pandemic and focused a new Toronto For All campaign in 2023 in support of those communities,” he continued.
