Marketing Memo: NBC Rejects PETA's Sexy, Hot & Steamy 'Veggie Love' Super Bowl Ad As 'To Hot' For Super Bowl Sunday Viewing

Above: A scene from PETA's 'Veggie Love' Super Bowl Ad, the commercial NBC says is "to hot" for game-day viewing. [Photo: PETA]

Apparently the NBC television network, the broadcast network for this year's Super Bowl football championship game/American national holiday event, doesn't do sexy -- at least when it comes to fresh produce-inspired, sensuality-oriented commercials appearing on its upcoming telecast of the big game.

In its somewhat distorted wisdom, General Electric, Inc.-owned NBC, which has been known to run a sexually suggestive soap opera, prime time television serious and movie or two on the network, (not to mention sex-themed commercials), has rejected a Super Bowl Sunday ad spot from the non-profit animal rights and pro-veggie organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) on the grounds that the commercial is just "plain too sexy" to appear on the network as part of its Super Bowl telecast.

PETA's Super Bowl ad, "Veggie Love," which features a bevy of beauties who are powerless to resist the temptation of veggie love, was deemed "too hot" for the Super Bowl, NBC says. NBC rejected the video because of concerns over "rubbing pelvic region with pumpkin," a woman "screwing herself with broccoli," and more, a company spokesman said today without cracking a smile. [In the spirit of "equal time," you can read NBC's complete list of concerns about the commercial here.]

But what about all those "hot" beer commercials from Super Bowl's past, we wonder? Maybe that was on ABC, CBS or Fox? Or is NBC's rejection of the PETA "Veggie Love" ad really all about fear of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)? Remember the "Janet Jackson moment" and the resulting fining of the network that aired the footage, even though it was on an awards show and not a commercial spot, by the FCC?

the rejected PETA ad shows numerous extremely attractive woman let us say "losing themselves" in the freshness and sensuality of fresh produce.

No men are shown enjoying the more sensual side of the veggies in the ad. We presume that's because most Super Bowl advertisers' target audience on game day are men. But we all know many women watch the Super Bowl as well. Of course, it's doubtful that the mere inclusion of a male or two in the "veggie love" commercial spot would have been enough to change NBC's mind in terms of running the ad. But doing so would have been more equal opportunity.

We think the censors at NBC should think twice about judging what the American people should or should not view. after all, isn't NBC the same network, along with the others, that's always the first to cry censorship when one group or another wants the network to ban a program (or ad spot) it feels is overly sexually explicit or offers some other offensive element to the group? Yep, the same NBC.

And aren't the TV networks famous for pulling out and using that saying they created: "If people don't want to watch it (an offensive to them program or commercial) all they have to do is press the off button on the television?"

But we guess "Veggie Love" is just a bit too much for the NBC brass. This despite the fact PETA was willing to pay the same millions of dollars for its Super Bowl commercial spot as everybody else is, including food and grocery companies PepsiCo and Kelloggs, both of which will be running Super Bowl spots. We didn't know PETA had that kind of cash on hand, by the way.

But you see, since it is the Super Bowl, and there are so many companies willing to buy ad spots (more demand than there is supply), it just might be that rejecting the PETA ad, and the millions of dollars that come with it in revenue for NBC, was easy since the once-annual Super Bowl event is the hottest advertising ticket around for TV networks. There were plenty of others waiting to take PETA's ad time slot.

We wonder if NBC would have rejected the same PETA ad, say for the same amount of money, if the animal rights and pro-veggie, non meat-eater loving group wanted to run it on the network at anytime other than on Super Bowl Sunday? What do you think? Would not the green eye shade-wearing guys at NBC veto the censors? After all, NBC and its parent company General Electric are hurting for revenue in this severe recession.

But alas the only sexy veggies on Super Bowl Sunday will be those viewers create in their own kitchens and display on serving trays for guests watching the game at their homes. We suspect some creative food styling can be done with carrot sticks, celery stalks, broccoli florets and other fresh veggie snack fare -- all in the raw and in their natural sensual state of course. Image the added sensuality if those veggies also are organic and locally-grown.

Meanwhile, NBC is handing PETA a public relations gift of gold. The animal rights, pro-veggie organization is beginning to get all sorts of ink, a video of its NBC-rejected Super Bowl commercial is now up on YouTube and other sites, and between today and Super Bowl Sunday the word-of-mouth buzz, media mentions and views of its video will likely provide the veggie-loving group with even more exposure than they would have received with its Super Bowl ad -- and without spending the millions for the commercial. In fact, PETA now has the "Veggie Love" Super Bowl ad issue at the very top of its Web site here. It's a PR goldmine in the making.

We happen to enjoy (eating) meat, as well as fruits and veggies (all from a culinary-only perspective of course), so we aren't what you would call "Friends of PETA" in the sense that we share all of the group's advocacy positions. But we do call them like we see them. And in this case we think NBC looks super-silly in its rejection of the ad for its Super Bowl Sunday telecast.

We do think the PETA ad, if shown on the Super Bowl Sunday telecast, might just have provided the fresh produce industry and America's food and grocery retailers with the most massive "post-game" spike in fresh produce sales in history. So in this regard PETA's loss is the fresh produce industry's and grocer's loss as well. (Tongue only partially in cheek.)

In learning of NBC's rejection of the hot and steamy ad we are reminded of what a 10-year old boy we know said the other day to a boy a couple years older than him, in a different context of course. The 10 year old said to the 12-year old who was teasing him: "Grow up already."

We think this is good advice for NBC regarding it rejection of the ad featuring attractive women and fresh produce -- "Grow up already." The people watching the Super Bowl can turn their heads, go to the kitchen to get some real veggies, or in a worse-case scenario press the TV remote control off button for 30 seconds when the spot comes on if they find it offensive.

[You can watch the PETA "Veggie Love" commercial video at this link: 'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad. Or view it here from the PETA Website. Unlike NBC, Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) doesn't censor our readers. However, if you feel strongly that fresh veggies should not be used in non-culinary ways, you might not want to view the video. More on the Peta issue...Video: Too Hot for TV: More Banned PETA Ads. And: Read NBC's Sexually-Explicit Rejection E-mail. Finally: Subscribe to the PETA YouTube channel.]

"Hand me the veggie tray" and "Please pass the dipping sauce" could have taken on whole new meanings this Super Bowl Sunday we suspect had PETA been able to run its "Veggie Love" commercial during the game. Super Bowl Sunday might have never been the same.

Food & Kids Memo: The Content of our Character: Preventing Childhood Hunger in America; Saving Kids' Lives in the Developing World With Clean Water

The Share our Strength organization, a non-profit group dedicated to the perfect humanitarian goal of trying to make sure not one kid in America goes to sleep hungry, has launched its Great American Bake Sale promotion and fundraising effort.

The major sponsors of this year's Great American Bake Sale are C&H brand and Domino brand Sugar. Both brands, C&H and Domino, have recently moved into the organic, raw and all-natural sugar categories. The brands are marketed in supermarkets, mass merchandise stores, natural foods stores, and other retail venues.

The two sugar brands are providing financial support to the "bake off" fundraiser, as well as conducting media and in-store promotions, with monies from the promotions going to Share Our Strength, to feed hungry kids.

The Food Network television network and Family Circle magazine are the media sponsors for this worthy and important campaign being coordinated by Share Our Strength.

Food Network celebrity Sandra Lee is the spokesperson for the fundraising effort and the various events during the month of March. Ms. Lee hosts the popular Semi-Homemade cooking show on Food Network and is the author of 13 books on the topics of foods and lifestyles. The show teaches viewers how they can prepare high-quality and healthy "semi-homemade' dishes conveniently and fast.

In Sunday newspaper's throughout America today C&H and Domino brand sugar dropped full-page FSI's advertising the Great American Bake Sale, using the tagline: "Ending Childhood Hunger Can Be A Piece of Cake." The FSI's include "cents off" coupons for the sugar brands' various products at the top of the page, with the large advertisement below, including a listing of the group's website, which is http://www.greatamericanbakesale.org/.

Share Our Strength is holding events throughout the U.S. this month. Individuals and groups can go to the website and sign-up to hold bake sales and donate the proceeds to Share Our Strength to help make sure hungry kids are fed. Individuals, companies and groups also can fund a bake sale team with a donation if they don't want to hold an event themselves. Go to the website and click on the "Ways to Get Involved" link to get all the information on how you can support the group's efforts to help end childhood hunger in America.

Food and grocery industry business are participating by holding events as well. Restaurants across America are participating in the "Taste of the Nation" program, in which a percentage of profits for a certain period of time goes to feeding kids. There's also the "Great American Dine Out," which will happen in September. You can learn more about both programs on the Share Our Strength website.

Supermarkets also are getting into the act. In partnership with C&H brand and Domino brand sugar, retailers are setting-up in-store displays featuring various varieties of the sugar brand products, along with other baking ingredients and bake sale fundraiser point-of-purchase materials.

We can't think of a more important and noble effort than the goal of ending childhood hunger in America. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of kids go to sleep each night hungry in the U.S., the richest country in the world. Further, with food inflation and a stagnating economy in the U.S., more and more families are going without the food they need. Requests at food banks and food pantries have increased by at least 30% in the last year, and food needs continue to grow.

We ask our readers to donate or participate in Share Our Strength's efforts to feed kids. Doing all we can to ensure that no child go hungry if we can help it is a measure of the content of our character as people, as an industry and as a nation.

Proctor & Gamble's Pur Children's Safe Drinking Water Program

Consumer products and packaged goods giant Proctor & Gamble is launching a major international effort and promotion to literally help save the lives of children in less developed countries.

Every single day around the world, more than 4,000 children die from diseases caused by drinking unsafe water. To help end this horrible fact, Proctor & Gamble is the main corporate sponsor of the Children's Safe Drinking Water Program. [Learn all about the group's efforts here on its website.]

P&G has created a program involving its Pur Home Water Filtration System and the international safe drinking water for kids program.

The company distributed a multi-page free-standing insert (it's BrandSaver FSI) via Sunday newspapers in nearly every metropolitan U.S. city today announcing the program. For every Pur Water Filter coupon consumers redeem in March and April (another BrandSaver drop will happen next month), P&G will donate 1 liter of filtered drinking water to a child in the developing world. The goal for March and April is to be able to donate 50 million liters of safe, filtered water to developing world children.

The consumer products' and packaged goods giant also is supporting clean water for kids efforts through the program in a number of other ways. For example, it provides its Clean Water Kit, which is a portable water filtration kit that can be used by anybody anywhere, for free throughout the developing world. Using the simple kit, it takes just minutes to purify even the most seriously contaminated water. To date, the company says it has provided more than 500 million liters of pure filtered water by giving out the kits.

You can learn more about helping to save children's lives by simply helping to get them clean, pure water, something we in the developed world take for granted, here.

Instead of buying bottled water for a week or two, how about donating that amount--or more if you can afford it--to programs like this one which are working to save kids' lives. Such needless death truly challenges the content of our character as individuals, corporations and nations. We need to prevent the deaths of these 4,000 children who die each day because of a lack of clean water, and do so sooner rather than later.

You also can make an individual or corporate donation at the website here. Just click the donation link at the top of the screen. Find out more about Share Our Strength and childhood hunger in America here.