Mancrunch V. CBS: It’s On
by Claudine Zap
For some (OK, most), Super Bowl Sunday will be about the meeting of the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. For those watching the ads, it might be seen as a smackdown between Tim Tebow and the gay dating site Mancrunch. But the real competition might be an old Snickers ad. Let us explain.
The former Florida Gators quarterback will star in a pro-life ad from the Christian group Focus on the Family. Despite the controversial topic, CBS responded to critics saying it was just fine with "responsibly produced" advocacy ads.
But the line got drawn with Mancrunch, which was told by CBS it could not, well, come out for the Super Bowl. Mancrunch complained the rejection smacked of "straight up discrimination," although the issue could have been straight up financial — the upstart site would have had to pony up $2.5 million for a 30-second spot. CBS explained its decision, as reported by Media Bistro: "The creative is not within the Network's Broadcast Standards for Super Bowl Sunday."
Gawker pointed out that the standards seemed pretty loose when running the Snickers kiss ad a few years back. That one featured two guys accidentally smooching as they share a Snickers bar "Lady in the Tramp" style. Check it out below. The Mancrunch ad, which you can watch uncensored (you're welcome) is pretty funny. Basically, two men on a couch are watching the game, get excited by a play, and then make out — while a third guy looks on in shock. Even without a primetime Super Bowl slot, the ad is starting to get some notice. One-day searches on Yahoo! for "mancrunch" soared almost 5,000%.
See what other Super Bowl ads have been rejected.
A spokesperson for the dating site referenced the approved Tebow ad in his response to the CBS rejection, saying: "We are very disappointed that in 2010 such discrimination is happening especially given the fact that Focus on the Family is allowed to promote their way of life during the Super Bowl." And anyway, it's not like Super Bowl viewers haven't seen men kiss in ads during the game before — the Snickers ad took care of that.
But hey, you can watch both ads and do your own math.
