Earlier today we told you that CBS is drawing fire from a new dating site for homosexual men called Mancrunch.com. The problem: it’s taking forever for the network’s Standards & Practices division to approve (or not) the ad posted above, says the dating site. CBS says this is how it works. Strap on your rubber helmet, we’re going for a ride.
Mancrunch rep. Dominick Friesen tells us his company gave CBS a review copy of the ad two weeks ago. In taking so long to respond, “you’d assume it’s because (the spot) advertises to the gay community,” he said during a phone interview. Network rep. Dana McClintock wasn’t clear on the time-line, but noted that there’s no formula or “normal” length of approval time.
It is the Super Bowl, after all, and a lot of ads are being submitted. CBS wouldn’t elucidate the process used by their standards & practices division to approve or deny ads. But keep in mind, these issues crop up every year — sometimes it’s PETA, others GoDaddy, but companies always see the Super Bowl as an opportunity for press. Whether free or paid. We asked Friesen if his company is looking for free press, “It’s nice that people are talking about us, but we want the ad on the air,” he said.
Mancrunch says they were planning to run the ad from the time they laid out the site’s launch plan. “We didn’t expect this to happen,” said Friesen. “We just launched this month, and we put money into the Super Bowl because of the launch.”
Another factor plaguing CBS was a mis-communication regarding available ad space. Late Wednesday, the network released a statement revealing that there are a few spots left — which is still true as of the time this story was published. Mancrunch’s Friesen told us that a few hours ago, a CBS sales rep. informed his company that the space was sold out. That detail has caused most of the concern, prompting Mancrunch executives to call CBS’s lack of movement a stall-tactic and an “anti-gay action”.
And then there’s the Tim Tebow anti-abortion ad that CBS recently approved. On the surface it would appear that CBS is choosing one subject over another. However, consider that the Tebow spot is for an advocacy group while Mancrunch is for a private organization looking to make a buck.
The issues aside, the question seems to be whether or not CBS is wrong to permit an advocacy ad over one for a private company. The only problem with that is leaving homosexuality and anti-abortion out of this conversation won’t be possible.
The ad above was created by Mancrunch’s in-house team.
More: “With the Door Open for Tebow Super Bowl Ad, In Come ‘The Gays’”