To bee or not to bee? That was the question.

Answer: Not.

Brian Tierney, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Media Holdings (PMH), which owns the Daily News, Inquirer and Philly.com, decided yesterday to kill plans to put a giant inflatable bee on the company's North Broad Street headquarters. The Logan and Callowhill neighborhood associations had opposed the promotion for the upcoming film "Bee Movie." Earlier, the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment had postponed a decision on the company's request for a variance to allow the promotion, which also included two large banner ads running down the side of the building. The promotion was to run for three weeks.

"I wish to end all of the buzz by announcing that our effort to seek a zoning variance is not meant to bee," Tierney said in a statement. "This lighthearted and fun effort was intended to support our city's growing movie industry, to gain some additional national visibility for our city and to put a smile on peoples' faces as they passed by this giant inflatable bee and banners."

Tierney added: "We would never do anything which didn't have the full support of our neighbors."

Mary Tracy, who heads SCRUB, a nonprofit advocate for public-space protection, said she was pleased by the company's decision to honor the letter of the law, which prohibits the kind of signage that the media company was seeking.

"We hope this kind of thing continues throughout the city where the public voices its concerns about public space," she said.

"I would have a hard time envisioning the circumstances under which we might support" building ads, she said.