Offensive Or Thought-Provoking? 'Deserve To Die' Ads Are Turning Heads
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There's a new and mysterious ad campaign popping up across the country, including Chicago, and it's ticked off quite a few people.
CBS 2's Marissa Bailey has more on what may be driving the bizarre ads.
In case you haven't noticed, pay phones are still around. You might want to take a closer look at them – or at least the posters affixed to them.
And if you're an animal lover like Shelli Williams, or if you have a tattoo, or have a hipster look, or you're a bit smug, then, according to these posters: You deserve to die.
"I think that's very offensive to people who are animal lovers," Williams said as she inspected one poster that said "Cat lovers deserve to die."
There is no attribution, but there is a website with the same posters scrolling onscreen and a countdown clock that expires at midnight Thursday.
The website says: "Every year 160,000 lives are lost to a deadly disease. They didn't ask for it, but many people seem to think they deserved it."
Some are intrigued by the posters; some apparently are enraged. In Lakeview, someone had ripped down one of the signs.
"Nobody deserves to die; come on, that's a hell of a statement," Kyle Rothfus said.
The ads are on a handful of pay phones in the city of Chicago, Skokie and Evanston. They've also been spotted on phones in Seattle and New York City.
Published reports speculate the campaign may be tied to lung cancer deaths.
