While the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! won’t be making its debut until March, an array of advertisements for the vivacious Bette Midler–led production have been coming out in droves for a few months now. However, one particular newspaper ad has reportedly ruffled some feathers at the New York Times — not for its content, per se, but rather for its placement. According to Politico, the New York Times axed a proposed ad for Hello, Dolly! that would have been on the front page of a special “For President†section of the Times because it was too politically charged. (While the Times had previously endorsed Hillary Clinton for the presidency in its editorial pages, the Grey Lady considers the rest of its journalism nonpartisan.) The ad, which you can view below, would’ve encompassed the bottom half of the page with its “It Takes a Woman†text. Instead, an ad for The Humans ran in its place, and Hello, Dolly! was given the full-page treatment in the back of the special section. “As we were preparing the edit content and the ad appeared on the page,†a Times spokeswoman said in an email, “we realized this particular ad wouldn’t work since it would appear as an endorsement.†Given that we know what Bette Midler thinks about the Donald, she must be disappointed.
