An advertisement for Epinions.com, in
which a woman demonstrates using a breast pump, has been banned from ten
television stations and cable networks, either because viewers complained or
because it defied the stations’ own standards.
While the spot doesn’t actually show any bare skin — the woman simply
holds the breast pump up in front of her chest — viewers were apparently
offended by the portrayal of the device.
“Our ads show real people giving their opinions about things they like and
dislike,” Mike Speiser,
co-founder of Epinions.com. “We find it unfortunate
that these stations decided to censor this ad.”
The stations that declined to air the ad based on their own standards were
KIRO-TV (CBS) in Seattle and KGO-TV (ABC) in San Francisco. Viewers spurred
the yanking of the ad at WNYW-TV (FOX) in New York City, WNBC-TV (NBC) in
New York City, KOMO-TV (ABC) in Seattle, WCVB-TV (ABC) in Boston, WHDH-TV
(NBC) in Boston, KVUE-TV (ABC) in Austin, Time Warner Cable in Austin, and
UPN and WB Cable in Austin.