TAMPA, Florida – Thirty major companies stopped advertising on the new Entertainment (E!) Channel’s Playboy’s Girls Next Door Show after receiving emails from concerned citizens and faxes from a pro-family lobby group.
The Florida Family Association (FFA) explained that “Playboy started the porn industry with their first magazines being less explicit than a Cosmopolitan. However, once Playboy got a foothold into the market with magazines in many stores the publications slowly turned more explicit and other publishers joined them. Playboy’s new unrestricted, advertiser supported television show must be opposed now before it is accepted in the market place, allowed to become more explicit and copied by other porn companies,” the FFA warned.
“This program, which supports the world’s largest porn company and the related hedonistic lifestyle, gets its life from the companies that advertise on the show,” the FFA continued. In response to an e-mail and fax letter campaign, initiated August 7th, the Association reported the following companies stopped advertising on the sexually explicit program: The Coca-Cola Company, Progressive Insurance, Geico, Hewlett-Packard, Amerifit, Loreal, Cingular, Mars, DSW Shoes, American Honda Motors, Best Buy, Bell South, GlaxoSmithKline, Conagra, Dyson vacuums, Schering-Plough Corporation, eHarmony, Priceline.com, TJ Maxx, IHOP, Dairy Queen, The Hershey Company, Rustoleum, SC Johnson, American Suzuki Corporation, Nestle, Fruit of the Loom, Regis Corporation, WhiteWave and Children’s Place Retail Stores.
Some companies, such as Conagra, replied to the letter. Conagra wrote, “Thank you for your note expressing concern about our advertising appearing on a new Entertainment Channel show, ‘Playboy’s Girls Next Door.’ This program was not part of our media buy, and the network placed our advertisements on this new television show without our knowledge. We have no plans to advertise on this program again.” Julie DeYoung, Corporate Affairs.
Several other mainstream companies have recently advertised on Playboy’s Girls Next Door, the FFA stated. These companies include: Burger King, Home Depot, Bridgestone-Firestone, Revlon, Hyundai Motor America, General Nutrition Corporation (GNC), Biolab (Greased Lightning), Coty (Rimmel), Plantronics, Berlex (Yasmin,) Klein-Becker USA, Anheuser Busch and Miller Brewing Company.
The Florida Family Association is asking concerned citizens to “Please send your emails to encourage these companies to stop supporting Playboy’s Girls Next Door with their advertising dollars.”