CBS nixes MoveOn ad

AdAge.com: Viacom's CBS today rejected a request from liberal group MoveOn to air a 30-second anti-President Bush ad during the Super Bowl. (Here's my Tuesday post on this.)

CBS's "no issue ads" policy has always seemed paternalstic and demeaning to me, treating us as if we can't handle public policy views that we may disagree with. As Sheila says, "what standards or practices could this subtle ad violate?"

Adds Sheila:

This seems like a reason made up to explain a political decision, or the most narrow definition of "issue" in our lexicon.

Who's advertising in the Super Bowl so far? 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 Foundation and the aforementioned White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy are all in the lineup.

Jeff Jarvis nails it: "whom are you protecting, CBS? Us? We don't need it, thanks." And later:

That's a pile of Black Rock bile. What, they can accept an ad about, oh, literacy and that's not an issue? They accept ads against smoking and that's not an issue? But an ad about the presidential election and the deficit is somehow corrupting?

A sad day for our corporate democracy.

Later: MediaChannel.org has this: CBS Cuts MoveOn, Allows White House Ads During Super Bowl.