The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

After realizing they'd been the target of a religious right campaign, the Australian agency responsible for placing ads in Brisbane bus stops has decided to reinstate a safe sex billboard showing two gay men embracing and holding an unopened condom.

Australian Christian Lobby's Wendy Francis told reporters that the ads "show two young homosexual men in some sort of act of foreplay." Ms. Francis was forced to publicly apologize after tweeting last year that equating marriage equality with legalizing child abuse.

Australian comedian Josh Thomas tweeted a response to Ms. Francis' homophobia. "Wendy Francis thinks hugging is foreplay. Remember that if you see her hugging her kids," he sent.

Announcing their backflip this afternoon, the company said it had changed its mind because it did not realise it had been subjected to a campaign from the Australian Christian Lobby to remove the posters.

Statement from Adshel CEO Steve McCarthy is below.

"Following ACL Queensland director Wendy Francis' acknowledgement that the complaints received by Adshel, Brisbane City Council and the Advertising Standards Bureau regarding QAHC's campaign have been orchestrated by the Australian Christian Lobby, Adshel is reinstating the 'Rip and Roll' campaign," a company press release said.

"Adshel earlier responded to a series of complaints by removing the campaign from its media panels yesterday. None of the complaints indicated any liaison with the ACL, so Adshel was made to believe that they originated from individual members of the public."

Adshel CEO Steve McCarthy said in a statement: "It has now become clear that Adshel has been the target of a coordinated ACL campaign. This has led us to review our decision to remove the campaign and we will therefore reinstate the campaign with immediate effect."