Bell Canada makes punk slip

It seemed so simple: Show your brand is a bit edgy by featuring a punk - yes, a punk - in your advertising.

What could possibly go wrong?

For Bell Canada, it was someone noticing the woman in their ads was wearing a Belsen Was A Gas badge.

Oops.

"It was inadvertent," Bell Canada spokesman Mark Langton said on Friday, noting that the dozen ads were taken down as soon as the company realized its mistake. "Obviously, we would never depict such an offensive slogan in our advertising."

He said Bell officials approved the ads after examining sample images that were smaller than the final billboards. The button inscription could only be read when the ads were blown up to their full size, he said.

"In the proofing and approval materials, it was impossible to see the button, so our folks missed it."

Still, they wanted edgy. They got edgy. Who knew clapped-out punk rock still had the power to agitate?