‘Belsen was a gas’ not a great copy line

Bell Canada is begging forgiveness after featuring the line “Belsen was a gas” on billboards that went up during the Jewish New Year. The line, the title of a Sex Pistols song, referring to Bergen-Belsen, the German concentration camp, appeared in the ads on a button worn by a young Japanese girl outfitted with various punk-style accessories. Bell Canada officials say they couldn’t read the words on the small proofs they saw. “It’s a bad ad on any day, perhaps particularly so this week,” says a spokesman.