Super Bowl ads
CBS rejects ad for gay dating site Mancrunch
Network will run anti-abortion ad featuring Tim Tebow
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ManCrunch.com
CBS has rejected a Super Bowl ad from gay dating site ManCrunch.com.
The ad shows two men watching a football game who reach for the chips at the same time. As their hands touch and eyes lock, they then acknowledge their mutual attraction in a passionate kiss/embrace. This comes as quite a shock to their friend.
CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs gave no specific reason for the decision to CNNMoney.com:
"After reviewing the ad, which is entirely commercial in nature, our standards and practices department decided not to accept this particular spot. We are always open to working with a client on alternative submissions."
The ruling has raised some eyebrows in light of the network's decision to run an anti-abortion ad featuring Florida QB Tim Tebow.
Sporting News' Michael Tunison, among many others, predicted last week that CBS would reject the ManCrunch ad:
Methinks ManCrunch officials are dead on with this one. There's little to no chance CBS will give the ad any real consideration for airtime. Maybe had the commercial been toned down a bit from two guys wildly making out. Not that there won't be ads with hetero people going at it, but physical interaction between gay people is still probably too shocking for a conservatively minded Super Bowl audience, I'm guessing.
But despite the rejection, Dan Levy of the Sporting News said it worked out well for ManCrunch, saying they got "way more than $2.5 million dollars worth of advertising from not being allowed to advertise."
But David Zublick of digitaljournal.com agreed with CBS' decisions on both ads.
CBS is damned if they do and damned if they don't. They will obviously suffer for taking the moral high road in both cases. They may even face legal action by both aggrieved parties.
But they shouldn't.
