Sex appeal in advertising is making sports programs too risque for families

For example, pharmaceutical companies that produce drugs for erectile dysfunction like Cialis and Viagra provide a list to PTC every week of all the shows during which erectile-dysfunction advertisements will air (these schedules can be accessed at www.parentstv.org/ed). Protests from PTC and other advocacy groups recently succeeded in shelving a JC Penney advertisement that marketed men's clothing by showing an attractive 17-year-old girl in a tiny red bikini getting out of a swimming pool, with a narration in the background from ESPN personality Kenny Mayne that said, "If you look at these smart fashion choices from Van Heusen, we're going to show you this (woman). That way everybody wins."

"There are some reasonable expectations that parents and families have," Parents Television Council's Isett said. "If you're going to watch a family show, you shouldn't be blindsided by a sexually explicit ad of some sort.

"There's room for everybody to improve here, but what we've tried to focus on is having some sense of responsibility from advertisers and the broadcasters that placed these ads, in terms of the time, place and manner where they're distributed."

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