If you have kids, and you’ve watched pro football with them, then you probably have something in common with President Obama.
In his book The Audacity of Hope, he wrote, “…I wasn’t too happy with ads for erectile-dysfunction drugs popping up every 15 minutes whenever I watched a football game with my daughters in the room.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I have parental controls on my cable TV that filter out adult-rated movies and shows. When I watch the NFL with my kids, I wish I had the same controls for the ads. Ironically enough, Fox is the biggest offender, with previews for shows like House, 24, Dollhouse and Prison Break, mixing soft core porn and hard core violence in short yet offensive bursts.
If you think I’m overly sensitive, ask Common Sense Media. In their recently released study on the content of ads shown during NFL broadcasts, they concluded that "it was impossible to watch a single game without coming up against sex, violence, or Viagra." One in six of the ads shown during the broadcasts features content that's wildly inappropriate for kids. That's every other commercial break.
Common Sense Media's report found that 40% of the games included ads for erectile-dysfunction drugs and 44.7% of the violent or sexual advertisements were promotions by the networks for their own programs. And over 10% of the ads overall involved significant levels of sexuality, including scenes about prostitution and strippers.
The amazing thing is that professional leagues go to great lengths to project a squeaky clean, family friendly appearance. The NFL is especially good at protecting their image; the league office does everything they can to be America’s League (especially since they can’t stop their players from literally shooting themselves in the foot), policing their sidelines, their sponsors, and their affiliations.
They should do a better job of policing their airwaves.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Amen. I don't understand why the leagues are not held to the same advertising and broadcast standard as "the family hour" on network television. The NFL needs to tell their broadcasting partners that they can not promote these types of shows on their broadcasts. They have the power to do so.
They have the power, yes, but there's this thing called "money" that creates a hitch in any plans the NFL (and Fox) might have to regulate the ads. Stating the obvious, I know, but the NFL should step up. They'd find a way to replace the revenue. Fox is another story. That's where most of the violence comes from. If they'd just advertise America Idol and only American Idol, we'd be fine.
Post a Comment