Is it a shock that CBS is showing bias toward the religious right agenda?
No.
But it's still infuriating!
CBS has rejected two unrelated ads which were submitted to the company for the coveted Superbowl commercial air time. CBS claims that the rejection of the ads were for different reasons, but it's hard not to notice that both of these particular ads feature homosexual themes, both direct and in-direct.
One of the rejected ads is for a guy dating site called Man Crunch. The site features two dudes watching the game, their hands meeting in a bowl of chips accompanied by a romance-movie-esque embrace and ends with a bewildered friend looking shocked at the turn of events. CBS claims that there were credit issues with the company which is the 'main reason' the commercial was rejected, however the company claims that allegation makes no sense because they offered to pay for the commercial in cash. Man Crunch is a fledgling but well-supported company that has 40 million dollars in investment funds which would easily cover the 2.5 million dollar price tag for the advertising space, but CBS claims they never offered to pay for the air-time in cash. Now that they've made their ability to pay clear, CBS isn't changing it's decision to reject the ad, which seems like a pretty strong indication that some bullshit 'credit' issue had nothing to do with their decision not to run the commercial.
The second ad which was rejected had no overt homosexual themes but it featured an effeminate man whose name is "Lola". The rejection of this ad is far more difficult for CBS to justify, given that the sponsor is a company which has been recognized as a Superbowl commercial fixture for years, GoDaddy.com. GoDaddy does have a commercial which is being aired Superbowl Sunday, but it is not the original commercial they submitted. CBS seems conspicuously silent as to why the first commercial was rejected. I suppose it's a bit more difficult to make up some bullshit excuse about a company whose money you've taken without incident for years.
Now, if CBS were consistent with their position regarding 'controversial' commercials I wouldn't have as big of a problem with this but all of this is happening in the same year that CBS decided to accept a fucking pro-life ad to be run.
So, just for the record - advertisement that advocates a single position on an extremely controversial and polarizing issue: OK. Advertisements geared toward or even alluding to homosexuals which are entirely commercial and advocate only the use of a specific product: Not OK.
If you want to see the ads, check out this blog. This person has also thoughtfully listed the contact information for the appropriate CBS employees if you feel compelled to lodge a complaint. I know I'm going to.
When companies like CBS have control of valuable advertising space and make decisions regarding that space which show a clear bias for or against particular groups, they are guilty of using that space as a political tool to promote a specific agenda. When this agenda is supportive of religious right ideals which promote the reduction of an individuals civil rights, I feel like it's the duty of everyone who values their own civil liberties to speak out.
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