A beer ad that originally aired during the Super Bowl continues to be shown – and continues to rankle many viewers.

The Miller Lite spot, which draws on an older campaign theme of “Tastes great, Less Filling,” pictures two beautiful women arguing over which characteristic is the beer’s best quality. The women wind up in a “catfight,” tearing each other’s clothes off until they are wrestling – clad only in bras and panties – in wet cement. In the cable version, one of the women suggests after the fight, “Let’s make out.”

At the end of the ad, the viewer learns that it was all simply the fantasy of two guys sitting at a bar, and that, said Miller spokeswoman Molly Reilly, was the whole point. Miller told Fox News, “We’re making a little bit of fun” of guys’ fantasies.

Viewers are evenly split over the offensiveness of the commercial – at least according to Miller – but there’s no doubt the uproar over the ad has been enormous. The spot has been debated on TV and radio talk shows, and was even the subject of a USA Today editorial.

Tom Bick, Miller Lite brand manager, told USA Today that the edginess of the commercial was intended to draw attention to the product. “We set out to start some noise and break some plates,” he said, “but this thing has taken on a life of its own.” In fact, seven or eight sequels to the ad are already being shot.

The USA Today editorial approved of Miller’s strategy: “The point [of such ads] is merely to have an impact. To do so, high-cost, high-profile ads will push a few limits and, thus, push a few buttons.”

However, many who objected to the ad said they didn’t like being ambushed by something they’d really rather not see – or want their children to see. One man said in a letter to USA Today that, while adults know in advance what sort of content is in a particular television program, a commercial can air any time. “[T]hose parents aren’t making a decision to watch nearly nude women mud wrestle, as depicted in [the Miller beer spot],” he said.

In fact, Reilly admitted that 30% of the audience that sees the ad are under age 21. Nevertheless, she said the Miller ad, like many other things on TV, merely provides an opportunity for parents. “There’s Victoria’s Secret ads. There’s jock itch commercials. As a parent, I would think it’s my job to help [kids] navigate through this world of adult products,” she said.

“That’s so typical of the people connected with the media – they air their trash and then say, ‘All the responsibility lies with the parent,’” AFA President Tim Wildmon said. “Plus, to argue that everyone else is running offensive commercials merely proves that with each objectionable ad that airs, it becomes easier for other advertisers to do the same.”

Sources: USA Today, 1/22/03, 1/23/03, 2/17/03; FoxNews.com, 2/3/03

KINGPIN
The episodes reviewed by AFA Journal for this limited-run crime drama (NBC, February 2, 4, 9, 11) demonstrate that network television continues to push the limits of decency with virtually every new show it airs.

Kingpin is about a Hispanic mob family that is part of a Latin American drug cartel. The series contains numerous scenes of open drug use and extremely brutal violence. There are bloody assassinations, cold-blooded syndicate killings, and scenes of torture. One character, the sadistic Ernesto, is shown feeding to his pet tiger the leg of a murdered U.S. drug enforcement officer.

In another scene, a dead dog, shot as a warning to someone who stole drugs from the cartel, lies in a puddle of its blood in a make-shift feast, complete with table cloth, utensils and candles.

Sexuality in Kingpin is extremely graphic and gratuitous. For example, in one episode a woman makes gestures to a man signifying her willingness to perform oral sex. A Mexican army general pulls down his pants in front of Miguel, one of the main crime family bosses, in order to show him his manhood, and later the general jumps on top of a woman in a vehicle for sex. Chato, Miguel’s brother, has an adulterous affair, and one sex scene is extremely explicit. One of Miguel’s potential drug-dealing partners enjoys sadistic sexual adventures with prostitutes, and the result of one gruesome encounter is shown. NBC is considering whether to continue Kingpin as a regular series.

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