The 9 Biggest Controversies in This Year's Super Bowl Ad Lineup
The road to the Super Bowl isn't easy -- for advertisers, that is. It's paved with conflicts, arguments and various legal and ethical hoops that companies have to jump through before they can spend $3 million for 30 seconds in front of America's biggest TV audience. Here are nine big issues from the run-up to the big game:
1. The NFL censors ads it doesn't like
Toyota was forced by the NFL to change an ad it made showing a mom worrying about concussions her son might suffer playing football. The high rate of head injuries in football -- it often leaves players with brain damage by the time they retire -- has some wondering whether the game will survive the crisis. The NFL moved to play down this controversy by telling Toyota that if the company did not take out references to football in the ad it would be banned from advertising in any football game, according to the New York Times. The ad now makes only generic references to "sports" and doesn't show a head-to-head helmet collision. You can watch the original, uncensored spot on YouTube:
- UPDATE: The NFL also rejected an ad from the NFL Players Association titled "Let Us Play," which urged the NFL not to lock out players at the start of next season. The ad was to air on the Feb. 5 All-Star game.
It's one of the more tiresome rituals of the Big Game: GoDaddy buys a spot, sends an ad featuring Patrick in various states of undress to the broadcaster, which then rejects the ad. GoDaddy then claims it has been "banned" from the Super Bowl before it then hands over an acceptable spot urging viewers to go to its web site to see the "uncut" version. I have been to the site to see the ads in the past -- for work purposes only, you understand -- and it's never worth it. This year, the skit contains some awkward acknowledgment of how bad GoDaddy's advertising is. "We're hear to promote GoDaddy," Michaels says. "Not be a part of some crazy stunt." Then she takes her clothes off. Maybe.
3. PepsiCo will not air either of its gay Doritos ads
The two ads for Doritos in the Super Bowl were filmed by the winners of a contest to make ads for the brand. Doritos got about 5,600 entries including two gay-themed ones. Neither made the final cut.
4. Fuss over the Super Bowl has drawn attention away from Michael Vick's new sponsor
Convicted dogkiller and Philly Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has picked up his first sponsor since he served two years in prison for animal cruelty. The CEO of Unequal Technologies, which makes protective padding for players, said "Michael is good people." Hmm.
5. CareerBuilder used real chimps in violation of an industry-wide campaign to not use apes in advertising
The ads are funny: They star a put-upon office worker whose colleagues are a bunch of monkeys. He can't wait to get a new gig. But the animal rights issue isn't. Using chimps in commercials is cruel and 10 of the 15 biggest ad agencies have signed PETA's pledge never to use them in ads again.
6. Will the NFL acknowledge the Super Bowl sex trafficking problem?
Some say the Super Bowl is the biggest weekend of the year for men trying to buy sex with under-age prostitutes. Anti-sex slavery organization Traffick 911 has made a PSA featuring Cowboys tackle Jay Ratliff which urges "I'm not buying it" (sex, that is). The NFL has yet to acknowledge the campaign.
7. Ashley Madison was not "banned" from the Super Bowl
The infidelity dating site cannot reasonably have expected Fox's standards and practices department to allow an ad featuring porn star Savannah Samson on the show. The company is just looking for publicity. The ad doesn't make any sense, anyway:
8. Automobile advertisers are getting a raw deal
About one third of the ads in the Super Bowl will be for auto brands. In the business, that's called "clutter" -- it devalues your ad buy by confusing customers with a mess of ads for competing, similar brands. Only the carmakers with really entertaining ads will benefit. Those whose ads have concentrated on the usual beauty shots of autos speeding along a winding rural road have probably already wasted their $3 million.
9. Only polite Christians are allowed in the Super Bowl
Last year, the most controversial ad was Tim Tebow's anti-abortion spot for Focus on the Family. That commercial didn't directly mention the A-word, which was probably why CBS allowed it to air. This year, comedian Richard Belfry tried to get his "Jesus Hates Obama" ad in the Super Bowl, and it was rejected. The ad shows a figurine of the president drowning in a goldfish bowl, and as such was never in a million years going to make it onto the TV:
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