Too Racy for Super Bowl: Rejected Ads

No one skips the Super Bowl commercials, do they? Viewers want to see them because they are usually funny, quirky, or sexy -- or all three. But ads submitted can be TOO sexy for the FCC-shy networks, especially after the fallout from Janet Jackson's infamous halftime wardrobe malfunction.

So inevitably some advertisers try to push the network's limits by submitting a really racy ad -- and then when it's rejected, the company touts it online as "banned!" or "too racy for the Super Bowl." Then the ad gets free attention from the media -- like in this very article. (WATCH SOME OF THE RACY VIDEOS AT LEFT AND BELOW)

This year, PETA -- the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- created another one of its signature shocking ads . It's called "Veggie Love" (watch in the media player at left), featuring porn-star-hot models getting busy with produce. (Yeah, that'll make it onto prime time!) Anyway, the point behind that ad and another one called "Sexy Sausage" is that vegetarians have better sex. ("Sexy Sausage" says that eating meat can cause impotence.)

PETA says that NBC rejected the ad because it "depicts a level of sexuality exceeding" the network's standards. PETA's Web site posted a copy of an e-mail supposedly from NBC saying it would consider running the ad if certain things were edited out, including the part where the model is "rubbing pelvic region with pumpkin." (And that's one of the more tame phrases.)

The rejection is just fine for more than the family-values crowd. A blog called Women's Rights on Change.org defends PETA's mission to protect animals, but criticizes the group's tactics.

"I understand that you are trying to latch on to the cliche marketing idea that 'sex sells,' but please, it is time to stop selling women's bodies in order to sell your message," writes Jen N. "Just like the animals you want to protect, we are more than just a piece of 'meat.' "

Meantime, GoDaddy.com and its spokeswoman Danica Patrick, the Formula One racer, have been the subject of lots of sexy Super Bowl ads in recent years. Usually the commercial teases a racier, "unrated" version or continuatio on the Web. (What a way to drive traffic.)

Last year, GoDaddy.com claimed that FOX didn't want to air its "Exposure" commercial because Danica refers to her "beaver." (Oh boy.)

GoDaddy says other ads were also rejected in prior years, including the "I Own You" spot in which one character says "I already did my mother." (No, it's not what you think -- yuck.)

GoDaddy.com will be posting a "Too Hot for TV" Web-only ad on Super Bowl Sunday. Yum, yum. (See more videos .)

Have you heard of AshleyMadison.com ? A lot of married men have because it helps them step out on their spouses and hook up with ladies looking for discreet adult play.

The Canadian company tried placing a print ad in this year's Super Bowl program. It features a glistening woman in a tiny tank top, and the line "WHO Are You Doing After the Game." (See photo, left.)

The NFL rejected the ad before even seeing it when it found out what the Web site was all about, according to CNBC.com . The CEO of AshleyMadison.com says he is not amused.

"I find the rejection to be ridiculous given that a huge percentage of the NFL's marketing content is for products like alcohol, which they sell in their stadiums, promote on their air and clearly have in the magazine," Biderman told CNBC. "That's a product that literally kills tens of thousands of people each year. So if the NFL is worried about legislating behavior and regulating what their audience should be exposed to then it should start with a ban on all alcohol advertising and products being sold, not AshleyMadison.com."

Viewers can judge for themselves if what makes it on air on Sunday, Feb. 1 is appropriate for television.

WATCH SOME OF THE VIDEOS (WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT)