The San Jose Mercury News refused to run an advertisement for a San Ramon, Calif., housing development that poked fun at mothers-in-law saying it violated " />


The San Jose Mercury News refused to run an advertisement for a San Ramon, Calif., housing development that poked fun at mothers-in-law saying it violated " /> MOTHER-IN-LAW JOKE LAYS EGG <br clear="none"/><br clear="none"/><br clear="none"/><br clear="none"/>The San Jose Mercury News refused to run an advertisement for a San Ramon, Calif., housing development that poked fun at mothers-in-law saying it violated


The San Jose Mercury News refused to run an advertisement for a San Ramon, Calif., housing development that poked fun at mothers-in-law saying it violated " />



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MOTHER-IN-LAW JOKE LAYS EGG



The San Jose Mercury News refused to run an advertisement for a San Ramon, Calif., housing development that poked fun at mothers-in-law saying it violated

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The Mercury said the ad, created by Carter Waxman/San Jose, violated the Federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating against single people.
Since the ad said ‘even your mother-in-law will like this gated community,’ the newspaper claimed it inferred a preference for married people.
‘When you can’t make reference to a mother-in-law because it discriminates against people who are not married, its reached a level of absurdity,’ said Peter Carter, president of Carter Waxman. ‘I can’t believe legislators ever intended that.’
A revised version of the ad that substituted ‘mother’ did run. Apparently, it’s okay to discriminate against orphans.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)