Manhandled: CBS Rejects Gay Site For Super Bowl Ad

Man Crunch as spot

Who ever thought football would become a political, well, football? The Super Bowl has again become a battleground for various advocacy groups and sponsors whose ads are felt to have political implications. This year has brought several controversies; the latest surrounding an ad for a gay dating site called Mancrunch.com, which CBS has rejected for the Feb. 7 broadcast.

The news is sure to spark criticism by LGBT organizations, which will, in turn, invite ripostes from conservative organizations advocating "family values."

Submitted to CBS about two weeks ago, the Mancrunch.com ad showed two male football fans watching TV, then accidentally touching hands when they reach for the same potato chip. There is a moment of hesitation, and then the men begin kissing. After showing the Web site URL, the ad concludes with a pan to the left, where a third male football fan observes the sudden turn of events with a surprised look on his face.

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After a fortnight's consideration, CBS informed Mancrunch.com that its ad had been rejected in a note reading: "CBS Standards and Practices has reviewed your proposed Super Bowl ad and concluded that the creative is not within the Network's Broadcast Standards for Super Bowl Sunday."

The CBS note did not give any reason for the decision, leaving it unclear what objections were voiced by its standards and practices division.

While the two men appear to be engaged in an intense makeout session, the viewer never actually sees their mouths come into contact; rather, the man who initiates the "action" turns away from the camera suddenly, giving the kiss a staged, over-the-top feel reminiscent of slapstick.

By some standards, that is tamer than the infamous "Snickers" ad that actually showed two men briefly kissing as they lunged after the same candy bar. (Apparently, food is a catalyst for homosexual encounters.)

Dominic Friesen, a spokesman for Mancrunch.com, said: "We are very disappointed that in 2010 such discrimination is happening, especially given the fact that Focus on the Family is allowed to promote their way of life during the Super Bowl. We're calling on every same-sex advocacy group to petition CBS and let them know this discriminatory behavior will not be tolerated."

Friesen is referring to the other main ad controversy this year.

CBS attracted criticism from liberals and pro-choice advocates for accepting an ad from Focus on the Family, a conservative organization, in which University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother relate a personal story to illustrate their opposition to abortion.

4 comments about "Manhandled: CBS Rejects Gay Site For Super Bowl Ad".
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  1. Joe Jacobs, February 1, 2010 at 11:29 a.m.

    Ah.... CBS - your 'double standard' network.

  2. Jonathan Mirow from BroadbandVideo, Inc., February 1, 2010 at 12:06 p.m.

    Can of worms - do they really think they could accept the "Focus" ad without something like this happening? The really bad news is - once this can is opened, it's VERY hard to get closed again. I suggest all advertisers with even a vaguely liberal (there, I said the word) message move all their advertising dollars over to the internet and let broadcast become the conservative wasteland that it so dearly wishes to become. See you 'round the web...

  3. Jonathan Mirow from BroadbandVideo, Inc., February 1, 2010 at 12:08 p.m.

    Oh, and @Paul - stupid's got nothing to do with advertising. I watched a commercial this weekend where a cartoon bear had toilet paper scraps hanging off it's ass and nobody was writing anything about that.

  4. Thomas Fosgard from IZ-ON Media, February 1, 2010 at 1:17 p.m.

    Interesting take, Paula. I was just thinking that CBS saved them some money for an ad buy that doesn't seem like a good idea in the first place. But your theory about them not intending to spend the money in the first place makes more sense to me.

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