Stung by community opposition, a pun-inspired Brian Tierney, chief of the company that owns The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, said yesterday that he would no longer seek city permission to allow the placement of a giant inflatable bee and banners on the Inquirer and Daily News Building to advertise a Jerry Seinfeld movie.

 

"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 national visibility for our city, and to put a smile on people's faces as they passed by this giant inflatable bee and banner," said Tierney, chief executive officer of Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C.

The Logan Square Neighborhood Association and the anti-blight group SCRUB had denounced the proposed advertisements. Some called the proposed ads "garish" and "shocking."

Mary Tracy, director of SCRUB, said she was pleased by the announcement.

"We really felt this could unleash a flood of applications" for advertising on major Center City buildings, Tracy said.

Tierney concluded: "While we thought that it was a fun idea, we respect the concerns of some and have decided to withdraw our request."

PMH spokesman Jay Devine said that for competitive reasons, he would not say how much advertising revenue the company would lose. He did say it was not a significant portion of the advertising purchased for the movie.

"This was just a small, added fun feature," Devine said.

Bee Movie, an animated feature starring Seinfeld, is scheduled to open Nov. 2.

Contact staff writer Robert Moran at 215-854-5983 or bmoran@phillynews.com.