Racy billboard starring Atlanta model causes stir in NJ

Since when does a billboard in Newark, N.J. have local ramifications?

When the subject of the billboard is a model, student and mother right here in Atlanta. Folks in Newark are up in arms over what they call a racy ad for Atlanta rapper T.I.’s clothing line, Akoo.

Blogs on local websites and television stations, as well as in the urban world, have been blowing up. Even Newark Mayor Cory Booker – whose parents live in Atlanta – chimed in. He told Barry Carter of nj.com that the billboard’s content will be addressed.

“There’s a lot of fronts to this fight,” Booker told Carter. “On this particular issue, I will work with my city council to see if we can address it.”

In the ad, a woman is seen pulling down a man’s pants. Her head is his leg. What happens next can be left to the imagination.

The woman in the ad is Dawn Montgomery, below. She is a senior at Oglethorpe University, mother of a 4-year-old and Katrina survivor.

“I have been modeling for five or six years and this is one of my biggest accomplishments,” said Montgomery, who moved to Atlanta from Mississippi after Katrina ravaged her community. “And it has gone haywire.”

Montgomery has done several major hair ads and she can be seen on MARTA buses for example, selling PZI Jeans. She just finished a project with rapper and singer Cee Lo Green for his upcoming album. She said she doesn’t understand what the uproar is about.

“There are not a lot of black clothing lines that go for the sexy look. So, for them to do that, it served its purpose marketing wise,” Montgomery said. “My family was aware of this ad and I take my job seriously. People are saying that I am degrading myself and degrading black women. I am just doing my job and as a model.”

Montgomery said she went into the shoot for the jeans with both eyes open. She was one of three models used for the campaign as “eye candy.”

“They tell you want they are looking for, creative direction and the story board,” Montgomery said. “That is when you decide what you are going to do. Me, being a single parent, I like to know what I am doing, before I get on set. A lot of people ask me if I feel comfortable with what they want me to do.”

In fact, Montgomery said one of the early ideas for the shoot was for her to be naked, with her face looking at the man’s private area. She refused.

“I simply said no and we went in the other direction,” said Montgomery, adding that the ad is no worse than anything she has seen for mainstream clothing lines.

“It has made me look at the industry,” Montgomery said. “But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is my family, my relationship and my God.”