FOX and CBS have refused to air a condom ad because it is "inappropriate" and focuses on preventing unintended pregnancies rather than explicity on prevention of sexually transmitted infections. This is an outrage and an extremely hypocritical stance for both networks as their prime time programming is brimming with sexual content.
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/condom_adGive me a break. CBS airs Two and a Half Men (at 8PM!) and they won't air this?! I stopped watching Two and a Half Men because it gets more gratuitously smutty by the week, and CBS won't air an ad that will surely prevent pregnancies????
Message from Cecile Richards, President
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Here's a pretty telling story from the world of media. There is
a new condom commercial on the airwaves that starts with a bunch
of women in a bar surrounded by some men who happen to look like
pigs. One of these men then shuffles to the men's room, grabs a
condom from a vending machine, and all of a sudden is turned
into a regular guy. But the message at the end is what I like:
"Use a condom every time."
As the nation's leading reproductive health care advocate and
provider, we're happy to see advertisements that promote
protection, but the catch, of course, is that two networks --
FOX and CBS -- rejected the ad. FOX explained its rejection of
the ad by saying, "Contraceptive advertising must stress
health-related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy."
Pretty shocking stuff, considering that we all know condoms do
both -- and since when is pregnancy not health-related?!? And in
the double standard department, network programs (and Viagra
commercials) are full of sexualized content, so why should an ad
about protecting yourself from pregnancy and STIs be any
different? Join more than 25,000 Planned Parenthood supporters
who have made their voices heard by telling CBS and FOX to stop the
hypocrisy and air ads that promote public health!
Edited to fix the mess I made while optimistically posting without previewing.