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CBS TV today rejected MoveOn.Org bid to run an anti-Bush ad during the Super Bowl, claiming that the network has a policy against advocacy advertising.
In fact the MoveOn ad is a political ad and this is an election year. Does this mean CBS will reject all political advertising, or just liberal political advertising and others they don’t agree with?
Looking at the lineup of ads already approved for the Super Bowl, it is clear that from CBS’ view, impotence, beer, toilet paper and drugs are ok. Criticizing Bush is bad.
Dan Gillmor (SJ Mercury News) blogged “…maybe it’s all a plot by the CBS outpost of the Liberal Media Conspiracy (TM). Here’s the idea: Turn down the ad, which will generate a firestorm of publicity, and then the ad will get played on all the news shows — free advertising and a much bigger bang for the buck. Maybe CBS is plotting with MoveOn.org! Ooooh, those clever lefties.”


As the Dallas Morning News reported,
CBS will however run anti-smoking ads during the game and, for the third year, an entry from The White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, known for their insipid “drug use aids terrorists” ads.
Besides the White House, others already lined up to advertise on the Super Bowl include Charmin toilet paper, Budweiser, the launch of anti-impotence drug Levitra (challenger to Viagra), Lay’s potato chips, AOL, GM, Dodge, a bunch of movies, anti-smoking ads from Philip Morris, a lifestyle ad aimed at teens from the American Legacy.