Too far! 'Malfunction' ignites a hot debate

One week after the most public "wardrobe malfunction" in modern history, Utahns are still talking about it and the larger issue it raises: decency, especially in advertising and the media.

How far can you go before you've gone too far?

Janet Jackson's bosom-revealing act during last Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show reached an estimated 90 million viewers worldwide. There, on network television, men, women and children witnessed pop star Justin Timberlake rip off the right portion of Jackson's costume, revealing her breast (which was partially covered by a decorative pastie).

Jackson later apologized and admitted that Sunday's act was a planned "reveal" gone awry. The Federal Communications Commission has launched an investigation into whether CBS violated decency laws, which could result in fines.

The law states that while indecent material is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be banned entirely, it may be restricted in order to avoid its broadcast during times of day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience. Indecent material — characterized by the FCC as material that does not reach the level of "obscene" but still contains offensive or excessive references to sex or excretions — is not allowed on radio or television from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.

If CBS is found to have violated the law, and if those violations are applied to each CBS affiliate that broadcast the event, the fine could reach into the millions.

Legalities — and Ms. Jackson — aside, family groups also railed at what they called the "baseness" of the show as a whole and voiced concern about the state of the industry in general. This year's Super Bowl ads included a flatulent horse, impotence drugs and plenty of gutter humor.

"At the end of the day, the advertising for this year's Super Bowl wasn't up to par, which was really disappointing," said Steve Babcock, associate creative director at Salt Lake-based W Communications. "The Super Bowl is for football, but it's the same for advertising. It's our big event."

Advertisements from Bud Light and Budweiser were particularly disheartening to Babcock because of the two companies' track record of launching fun, successful campaigns.

"This is from the company that did the 'Wassup' and 'True' campaigns, which I thought were really clever and appropriate for the product and the situation," Babcock said. "This year it was horses (passing gas) and dogs biting people in the crotch. Those guys had no limitations. They had all the doors open to them, and they chose to do that."

Utah debate

In Utah, the debate over decency in advertisements is ongoing and passionate. Popular targets in recent years have included Squatter's and its sister company, Wasatch Beers, for their St. Provo Girl and Polygamy Porter advertisements, Brighton Ski Resort for its polygamy billboards, and regular tussles over Abercrombie & Fitch's ads and catalogs.

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