NBC rejected a satirical ad from throat lozenge company Pine Bros., (which recently launched a holiday spot starring U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte) that was supposed to run during the network’s broadcast of the Golden Globes this Sunday.
“Unfortunately it’s not approved for air,” an NBC advertising account manager told Pine Bros. via email. “Subliminal perception techniques are not allowed when the content includes a sales pitch.”
“I’ve been discussing this ad with NBC and the Golden Globes for months, and we are disappointed that NBC didn’t get the joke,”Pine Bros. CEO Rider McDowell said in a statement. “This is clearly a parody of a subliminal ad, and the audience is in on the joke. It’s almost unbelievable to me that the network that produces Saturday Night Live wouldn’t understand satire.”
Pine Bros. informed us they do not plan on releasing the spot at this time. But the ad in question was described in an email response from the company’s lawyers’ imploring the network to reconsider as “a humorous parody with a campy 1950’s black and white sci-fi setting that mocks the attempt by the alien space invaders from the planet Kan-Dor to get people to buy Pine Bros. Throat Drops.” The letter concluded by stating that the spot “has cost them a significant amount to produce and they are exploring legal options if it is not aired.”
It’s not the first time that a Pine Bros. ad has run afoul of network censors. In late 2014, the brand’s spot starring rapper Waka Flocka Flame was banned by NBC and CBS for its cannabis innuendo. That spot did run during the AMAs on ABC and garnered the brand a fair bit of attention when it subsequently went viral on social media. Also, the Associated Press noted that “In 2005, Fox rejected a Super Bowl spot for Airborne, a product McDowell co-developed, that featured a brief flash of Mickey Rooney’s rear when the actor dropped his sauna towel.”
Here’s the email letter from Pine Bros. lawyers in full:
I represent Pine Bros. NBC apparently rejected an ad that was prepared by Pine Bros. for the Golden Globes. My understanding is that the standards people deemed it to be “subliminal advertising.” I wrote a note to Marcus Little, who referred me to you.
As I said to Marcus, your Ad Standards people obviously have no sense of humor. You should be glad that they do not write for SNL.
A subliminal ad is one where the viewer is unaware that he or she is receiving the message of the ad. It is considered to be deceptive and misleading as a result.
The Pine Bros. Golden Globes ad is plainly not deceptive and misleading. It is, instead, a humorous parody with a campy 1950’s black and white sci-fi setting that mocks the attempt by the alien space invaders from the planet Kan-Dor to get people to buy Pine Bros. Throat Drops. The only way the ad could be considered “subliminal advertising” is if the viewer actually believed that space aliens from a non-existent planet had taken over the television and their brains and were coercing them to buy Pine Bros. Throat Drops. Not even the most gullible person in the country would believe that. I’d hope that your Ad Standards folks do not, either.
In any event, the ad is plainly not subliminal since it mentions Pine Bros Throat drops repeatedly. Any viewer will obviously see this as clever and humorous ad for Pine Bros. Throat Drops. The fact that it is a parody of a 1950’s sci-fi movie reinforces that conclusion.
Not surprisingly, no one else has had any issues with the ad.
My client is a responsible advertiser with a reputation for slightly off-beat ads. The current ad is no exception, and it is entirely lawful and definitely not deceptive or misleading. Thus, I’d ask that your Ad Standards folks reconsider and approve it. This is very frustrating to my client because the ad is plainly acceptable. It has cost them a significant amount to produce and they are exploring legal options if it is not aired.
Please contact me if you have any questions.