CBS wants to keep one team from scoring on Super Bowl Sunday.
The network refuses to say if it will allow an ad for a gay men’s dating service to air the day of the big game, Feb. 7, despite the fact that its content is no more racy than nearly any beer commercial not starring the Budweiser Clydesdales.
In the ad for ManCrunch.com, two men watching the game reach into the chip bowl at the same time, then look into each others eyes — awkwardly at first — before kissing passionately.
CBS told the Web site that all ad space was already full, even though a handful of spots still remain unsold, said Man Crunch spokesman Dominic Friesen.
“It’s clearly a form of discrimination that we’re getting the runaround, that we’re not being told the truth,” he said. “Quite frankly, there is a lot of ad space available — a lot of the companies that typically advertise during the Super Bowl are not advertising this year.”
The network says it still needs time to review the ad.
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But it is not as if CBS is shying away from controversy in this year’s ads.
The network has accepted an anti-abortion spot from the group Focus on the Family that features college football star Tim Tebow and his mother.
That the executives would allow an advocacy ad on a divisive issue but not accept one from a service arranging dates between consenting adults is outrageous, ManCrunch.com complained.
“Honestly, when we went into this, we didn’t think there would be any problem,” Friesen said. “Clearly, the ad is promoting a dating site targeting gay men.”
CBS sources said there is a difference between an advocacy ad from Focus on the Family and a commercial ad by Man Crunch.
CBS also rejected one of the commercials that GoDaddy.com, a Web domain services company notorious for airing raunchy ads, produced for the two spots they have purchased.
The rejected ad, titled “Lola,” shows a football player who becomes a fashion designer.
“This is about a guy who starts an online business and hits the jackpot. I just don’t think ‘Lola’ is offensive,” said GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons. “In fact, we didn’t see this one coming — we were absolutely blindsided.”
Ironically, that ad was rejected because it seemed homophobic, CBS sources said.