CBS Rejects Moveon.Org Superbowl Ad
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CBS Statement on Advocacy Advertising
Wednesday January 28, 4:12 pm ET NEW YORK, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Given the misleading and inaccurate statements offered to the media and the public in recent days, it is understandable why there is confusion over the CBS Television Network's longstanding policy against advocacy advertising.
The policy is decades old. It is designed to prevent those with means to produce and purchase network advertising from having undue influence on "controversial issues of public importance." From the Network's perspective, we believe our viewers are better served by the balance and perspective such issues can be afforded within our news programming.This policy applies only to Network advertising, not to the local time of individual stations affiliated with the Network. As such, it is therefore also intended to promote and protect localism. Local stations we own, as well as CBS affiliates owned by others, are free to accept or reject such advocacy advertising for their own air based on how they believe such decisions serve the public interest in their communities.Conflicts over the policy are also decades old. The Network has rejected hundreds of advocacy ads over the years ranging from Mobil Oil and W.R. Grace Company submissions to ads on all sides of issues from gun control to abortion to the North American Free Trade Agreement, to name just a few. We have found that people tend to agree with the policy when they disagree with the thrust of the ad, and vice versa.Suggestions have also been made that we are violating our own policy by allowing the airing of messages that aim to curb drug abuse and smoking by minors. CBS is unaware of responsible groups that advocate drug abuse and smoking by minors, so it is hard to understand how these laudable efforts would constitute "controversial issues."In recent years, a cottage industry has arisen among groups that submit advocacy ads that they know will be rejected. They then resort to press releases and Internet diatribes about the rejection to reap considerable free media attention and financial contributions to support their cause. Editors and potential contributors beware.The one constant is that CBS's policy is simple, clear, published and available to anyone who asks. A copy of this written policy follows.ADVOCACY AND POLITICAL ADVERTISINGThe CBS Television Network (CTN) sells advertising time for the promotion of goods and services and for institutional advertising. CTN does not sell time for the advocacy of viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance.For the purposes of this policy, a controversial issue of public importance is defined as one that has a significant impact on society or its institutions, and is the subject of vigorous debate with substantial elements of the community in opposition to one another. A commercial announcement will be considered unacceptable if it: (1) explicitly takes a position on such an issue, or (2) without taking an explicit position, presents arguments parallel to those being made by one side or the other in the debate concerning the issue, so as to constitute implicit advocacy.Advertisers shall be afforded maximum latitude to touch on matters of public concern, either in institutional advertising or in promoting their goods and services, so long as messages do not rise to the level of explicit or implicit advocacy, as defined above, on a controversial issue of public importance. CTN reserves the right to restrict scheduling where such messages may be incompatible with program content.Notwithstanding the foregoing, CTN will sell time to political candidates, to those authorized by candidates to purchase time on their behalf and to political parties. CTN also sells time to groups supporting or opposing significant ballot propositions.A statement of CBS policy and practices covering the sale of political announcements is set forth in the current edition of the CBS Statement of Policy on Political Broadcasting.
Sometimes I don't have to spin the headlines - the liberals do it for me. :)
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Controversial Super Bowl Ads From MoveOn, PETA Rejected By CBS
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
January 21, 2004SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- Two liberal special interest groups had their proposed television advertisements for next week's Super Bowl broadcast rejected by CBS.Last week, CBS officially turned down ads by both MoveOn.org and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) because of their controversial nature and content. CBS executives believed the ads were not appropriate for the festive professional football game that will take place on February 1.The ad pushed by MoveOn.org was the winning entry in the infamous "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest that recently concluded. The proposed Super Bowl ad uses children working in a factory to criticize President George W. Bush's handling of the deficit.PETA's proposed ad has two attractive women barely wearing any clothing endearing themselves to a pizza delivery man eating meat.When the man fails to be aroused by the women, the screen shows the words, "Meat can cause impotence."The network that airs the Super Bowl, which is almost always the top-rated television show of the year with close to 100 million viewers, has the option of declining advertisers at its own discretion.Nevertheless, PETA's Vice President of Communications Lisa Lange believes the ad her group wanted to air is no worse than most beer commercials these days."We just want to be able to present our jiggly women," she told Reuters.CBS wrote in a letter to PETA that ads with "controversial issues of public importance" such as the one they submitted cannot and will not be run during the Super Bowl.Additionally, CBS said there were "significant taste concerns" with the PETA ad.Meanwhile, left-wing political group MoveOn.org, which recently posted two political ads on its website comparing President George W. Bush to Holocaust instigator Adolph Hitler, had already told its supporters in an e-mail that they would have an ad aired during the Super Bowl."With your help, we can take the winning ad to the Super Bowl," MoveOn.org recently wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "A political ad has never been placed on the Super Bowl before... The Super Bowl ad will cost $1.6 million to place nationally, but we can afford this."In fact, the group had set up a link on their website for people to contribute to the Super Bowl ad fundraising campaign.But that link was replaced with a general request for funds to the MoveOn.org Voter Fund when CBS turned down the ad, because it was considered "advocacy advertising," which CBS spokesman Dana McClintock said is against the network's policy.CBS, which is owned by Viacom, Inc., has had a long-standing policy prohibiting advertisements on debatable public policy issues that dates back to the 1950s.But Lange says she does not buy CBS' argument, citing anti-smoking ads, drinking and driving public service announcements, and fast food restaurant commercials she deemed as controversial advocacy spots."CBS has no problem airing commercial after commercial advocating the consumption of fried chicken, pork sausage, and fast-food burgers, even though eating these products is making Americans fat, sick, and boring in bed," Lange contends in a press release. "Considering that our ad has all three of advertising's most popular elements -- sex, humor, and animals -- the network should jump on it."Lange accuses CBS of not airing the PETA ad because they do not agree with its message."In essence, CBS is saying we will air an advocacy ad if we agree with the viewpoint," she expressed to Reuters.She added, "In a sense, everything is an advocacy ad. Every time you run a burger ad, you're advocating that people eat meat. And meat-eating is a controversial activity."Even MoveOn.org founder Wes Boyd said he is sure CBS rejected the MoveOn.org ad because it was critical of Bush."I worry that it's about ideology," Boyd exclaimed to the Associated Press. "This is about CBS and where they draw the line. It's very arbitrary and capricious when certain ads are accepted while others are not. The networks don't reveal their guidelines leaving the public unaware of the process."CBS News Executive Vice President Martin D. Franks says there are good reasons why the advocacy ads presented by MoveOn.org and PETA were turned down."[On] matters of the public debate where there are discernible sides, we don't want those who have deep pockets to have an undue influence on the debate," Franks said in a press release. "Pick an issue, NAFTA, gun control, abortion."In differentiating between controversial advocacy ads such as the ones from MoveOn.org and PETA, and public service ones such as anti-drug and anti-smoking ads, Franks said the difference is clear."If you can find somebody responsible who is for drug abuse, or someone responsible who is for teenagers seeking to smoke, then it would be a credible rebuttal of our policy," Franks explained. "I don't know anybody who does."When confronted about an issue ad that ran last year comparing illegal drug sales to terrorism, Franks admitted the system is not flawless."Is it an absolutely perfect system? Absolutely not," he said.Franks added, "On the other hand, the MoveOn.org ad wasn't even close. I didn't need to rewind that one in the VCR."Even still, MoveOn.org bought a local ad during the Super Bowl last year on ABC's Washington affiliate that was critical of the plan to go to war with Iraq, Boyd said. He said the group will likely work through the "back channels" to get their ad aired on multiple local affiliates during next weekend's Super Bowl telecast.Regardless, the MoveOn.org ad will begin airing today on CNN at a cost of $875,000.Approved ads by CBS for this year's Super Bowl include ones for AOL, Bayer, Daimler Chrysler, FedEx, FritoLay, GM, H&R Block, Monster WorldWide, the NFL, Pepsi-Cola, Philip Morris, Procter & Gamble, Sony Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Universal Studios, Visa USA, and Warner Brothers, among others.Because this is a presidential election year, Franks said, CBS will be forced to air unaltered political ads from the candidates, as prescribed by federal election law.