Victoria's Secret Ads Near Play Area Cause Stir at Northgate Mall

officials are planning to relocate an indoor playground after receiving several complaints from shoppers about the play area’s proximity to risque Victoria’s Secret ads.

Parents are concerned that the lingerie ads are inappropriate for young children and urge the mall’s executives to move the playground to a more suitable area. Some parents plan to go door-to-door and use email lists to urge people to shop elsewhere until the play area is relocated.

After receiving the first few complaints, mall officials began discussing where to relocate the play area, according to Northgate’s Marketing Manager Brianna Davis.

“As you know, these things take time, but we are working to get a resolution as quickly as we can,” Davis said.

The playground is an enclosed space in the mall’s corridor that accommodates mostly toddlers. The ads near the playground show scantily clad women on large posters that face shoppers browsing between stores.

“We’ve contacted the mall and got nothing back except the standard PR response,” said Jay Siegan, whose 5-year-old daughter enjoys playing in the mall.

If they do not get a response soon, Siegan said he plans to start organizing a boycott on Friday.

“We’re not angry at Victoria’s Secret,” he said. “We just think the mall was very insensitive when they placed the playground there.” 

Local performer and resident Susan Zelinsky and Siegan formed a group that rallies for the playground’s relocation. They started a Facebook page called A Better Children’s View after Zelinsky also saw the ads while shopping with her two daughters.

For Zelinksy, the placement of the ads are not like television advertisements, where she can turn the station if she thinks it’s inappropriate for her kids.

“[When I see those ads] there’s just a bad feeling I get in my gut,” she said.

Northgate Mall asks for support from shoppers as they figure out a plan of action.

“We value our shoppers concern and are working together with Victoria’s Secret and the community to reach an appropriate middle ground,” Davis said.