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February 07, 2005
Go Daddy Go
Well, last night marked the second year in a row that the Superbowl game was really entertaining, but the ads were pretty bush league. However, one ad in particular was fairly memorable and has generated a great deal of controversy: the "GoDaddy.com" 'You are upsetting the committe' ad. To see it go here, enter the randomly generated access code, and enjoy the video.
This ad was apparently supposed to run twice. It was previewed by Fox, and they found it unobjectionable (or at least acceptable). However, after it ran the first time, Fox received a complaining call from NFL executives and yanked the ad. They felt that it didn't meet the standards of the NFL (translation: they feared, among other things, that the FCC might be peeved).
(note to reader: try to contain your laughter about the 'standards of the NFL' line.)
The only trouble with all of this is that the FCC has now effectively managed to chill political speech: the crux of the ad is not salaciousness for the sake of salaciousness. It is a satire of the FCC itself (as well as some fictitious but hilariously realistic Senate subcommittee for Puritanism). And now we see just how short the trip is from a "wardrobe malfunction" to the leading edge of a real erosion of our free speech. This is still in the realm of commercial speech, but the scope of what must be censored appears to be evergrowing. How long can it be before this affects all of us? Safeguarding our children's right oneday to speak freely as citizens of a democracy is more important than protecting them from the sight of Janet Jackson's nipple.
Posted by dag at February 7, 2005 07:08 PM
Comments
Hey, that nipple gave me nightmares for weeks...
Posted by: The Good Rabbi at February 16, 2005 08:17 PM