Billboards

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused a columnist for The Times of illegally recording conversations with the president of the 1-800-GET-THIN marketing firm. The company is known for its ubiquitous billboards plastered along Southland freeways — and its catchy jingle that pops up on the radio and television — that promote shedding pounds via the Lap-Band weight-loss device. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Debre Katz Weintraub threw out the lawsuit that Robert Silverman, the marketing company's president, had filed against Times columnist Michael Hiltzik.

Re "City Council Orders Count of Billboards," Jan. 17: It's our leading art institutions, major nonprofits and city governments themselves that must have the greatest number of billboards up. Maybe they will take a leadership role in being the first to reduce the clutter on our streets by removing these banner-billboards from our light poles. Robert Steward West Hills

People who seek prostitutes could lose their vehicles and find their pictures plastered on billboards or bus stops throughout Oakland. City and police officials this week announced a new "shaming campaign" to crack down on prostitution in Oakland's Fruitvale district. People convicted of soliciting prostitutes could see their images featured prominently on billboards and bus shelters.

Re "Prune the Billboard Forest," editorial, June 4: We have radio, TV, magazines, newspapers, e-mail, snail mail and the telephone--all bombarding us with advertisements. Do we really need billboards at all? Burma Shave signs have long been obsolete. The combination of a plethora of billboards and cell phones on a freeway boggles the mind and constitutes a safety hazard. Many scenic countries get along without any billboards, thank you very much. The beauty of our part of the country (and Los Angeles in particular)

A recent survey from New York advertising agency BBDO Worldwide, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc., shows consumers like outdoor advertising, such as billboards, signs on buses, trains and phone booths and so on. The agency said that 75% of consumers responding to the online survey said they didn't mind, or even liked, outdoor ads. When asked what form of outdoor advertising they liked best, billboards received the most responses (18%).

I'll make a deal: I'll turn off my Christmas lights if the billboards in my neighborhood turn off their lights! LAURENCE WILCOX Los Angeles

The battle against AIDS is difficult enough without the likes of the American Assn. of Women, the group determined to eliminate billboards that advocate condom use to avoid the disease (Westside, Jan. 10). The group contends the billboards threaten "traditional family values." Isn't compassion for fellow humans included in those values? Those type of ads are potentially life-saving. At least that's the view of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn., which sponsored the recent billboard campaign, and the U. S. Surgeon General.

RE "Has He Got Next?" by Patrick Goldstein, Nov. 8: No doubt Jimmy Iovine has been successful in mining the urban black culture for business success. However, he does seem to have a limited understanding of the reasons there is concern in these same communities with the "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " billboards that sport 50 Cent holding a gun and microphone. I think it accurate to say that movie billboards with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie or Matt Damon carrying guns don't have the same impact on urban black youth as does one with 50 Cent.