CBS’s Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman ad

By: American Decency Staff

Nothing says Christmas like porn and strip clubs.  At least that’s what CBS seems to be telling us. Earlier this week CBS made news with their ad referred to as “Frosty the Inappropriate Snowmanâ€Â – an ad promoting the upcoming airing of “Frosty the Snowmanâ€Â on CBS.  The network produced lewd advertisements that show the children’s cartoon character, “Frosty the Snowman,â€Â with dubbed vulgar dialogue from two of CBS’ raunchiest shows – “Two and a Half Menâ€Â and “How I Met Your Motherâ€Â.    We monitor both of these shows on a regular basis, determining the corporate sponsors, and have alerted you in the past to the constant flow of crude and explicit themes and dialogue on these sitcoms. Taking actual dialogue from these sex-saturated shows, the voice-over of the CBS ‘pornified’ “Frosty,â€Â has “Frostyâ€Â saying, for example,  "We've got to have a bros' night at a strip club" claiming it's "healthy" and "harmless." And, “Frostyâ€Â states:  "I have been with a lot of women. Blondes. Brunettes. Redheads. Big boobs. Small boobs. Medium boobs. Some boobs that were big but kind of in a bad way."   Included in the ads are references to porn and sado-masochism. ********** As Fox News reports: A video advertisement on CBS's Web site that "mashes" material from the iconic "Frosty the Snowman" Christmastime cartoon with two of the network's comedy series is offensive and should be pulled, media analysts told FoxNews.com. The [ad], "Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman," takes authentic dialogue from CBS' "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" and dubs it on top of the cartoon classic, changing well-known "Frosty" scenes to contain suggestions that the snowman and his friends visit a "strip club." The mash-up also discusses Frosty's "porn collection" and contains repeated mentions of prior sexual conquests. The ad is intended to promote the network's upcoming broadcasts of "Frosty the Snowman" and "Frosty Returns." Colleen Raezler, a research assistant for the Culture and Media Institute, a division of the Media Research Center, said the spot is "highly inappropriate," and improperly uses a Christmas special to promote an adult-oriented comedy. "The ad introduces children to the idea of strippers and pornography," Raezler told FoxNews.com. "The people in charge obviously thought this was funny, but the question they should ask themselves is if this is appropriate, not if it's funny." Raezler said the advertisement is another example of popular culture "pushing the envelope" on everything. "It's sexing up Frosty," she said. "It really drives home the idea that nothing is sacred anymore." CBS did not reply to messages seeking comment. … Bob Peters, president of Morality in Media, add[ed] that officials at the Federal Trade Commission should be concerned about the promotion. "CBS is doing much the same thing that alcohol and tobacco companies have done in the past — namely, using imagery in advertising that would naturally attract children in order to market an adult product," Peters said in a statement to FoxNews.com. "Legal matters aside, it should go without saying that CBS TV ought to be ashamed of itself — using an animated Christmas season setting, complete with young children, to chat about strippers, whores, pornography, sadomasochism, sexual promiscuity, and more." Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, a watchdog group based in Los Angeles, said the advertisement was reprehensible. "It's either ignorance or arrogance, but I can't imagine the folks at the once-Tiffany network should think this is OK," he told FoxNews.com. "Someone had to write it and someone had to approve it. It speaks to the decisions that are being made at CBS these days." Winter also called for the advertisement to be pulled, characterizing it as the outcome of the network attempting to do "everything they can to be offensive rather than creative." http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/12/07/cbs-frosty-inappropriate-snowman-riles-critics/?test=latestnews *************** While of course Frosty has nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas, these ads are offensive not only as another degradation of Christmas, but also by the fact that CBS choose to use such vulgar advertising mechanisms in the first place, making a childhood character into a symbol of perversion.  Think of children doing a search for Frosty and coming up with these ads!  It only takes a second for a child’s innocence to be lost. John Tantillo, a marketing and branding expert and president of the Marketing Department of America, stated in reference to the “Frostyâ€Â ads:  “These trailers are not only morally bankrupt, they’re the stupidest kind of marketing imaginable. The dirty-minded lunatics have definitely taken over the asylum this time.  … only the worst kind of marketing crawls right out of the gutter and into our living rooms and the lives of our kids.â€Â Let CBS know that you outraged over the perverted themes in these appalling ads, associating lewdness with the innocence of childhood. Click here to contact CBS and send a prepared email to CBS decision makers: http://americandecency.org/take_action_form.php The complete mailing list for CBS including phone number, etc., is listed below: Contact CBS: CBS Corporation Leslie Moonves, Corp. President and CEO 51 W. 52nd St. New York, NY  10019 Phone: 212-975-4321 Fax: 212-975-4516 ========================================== To support this ministry: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/main.php?f=donate/display9 Solid December support has always been key to this ministry.  This year is no exception.  This December we have no match challenge to extend to you having met a challenging summer match grant of $15,000.   Yet, I would like to ask you to help us reach a goal of $50,000 for December!   With God's grace and help, together we can reach this realistic figure and be strengthened as we begin what promises to be a year of significant embattlement! We have received gifts totaling $13,740.85 toward our goal! =================================== American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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