Toronto Blue Jays Forced To Revise Pillow Fight Ad

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

MrsSpringsteen

Blue Crack Addict
Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Messages
29,276
Location
Edge's beanie closet
So is the "private broadcaster" like cable in the US? But cable in the US is not regulated like regular TV is-it's the opposite here.

TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Blue Jays have been forced to revise a television commercial featuring Frank Thomas after the ad drew objections from the Television Bureau of Canada, a regulatory body for private broadcasters.

A 30-second spot that shows the 6-foot-5, 275-pound designated hitter taking part in a pillow fight with two young boys was edited to remove a scene where Thomas knocks one of the boys off a bed and onto the floor. Thomas leaves the room with a smile on his face as the youngster gets to his feet and says "Wow."

Thomas is a former college football player and father of three whose nickname is the Big Hurt.

Laurel Lindsay, vice president of marketing for the Blue Jays, said Thomas and the child still exchange pillow blows in the edited version but the child is not knocked to the floor. Instead, he pops into the air when struck.

The decision to revise the ad was first reported by The Globe and Mail. Lindsay called the controversy over the commercial "ridiculous."

"Clearly we have taken ourselves entirely too seriously if we have given a pillow fight this much attention," Lindsay said Thursday. "The reaction we're getting from the fans is that people can't even believe this is an issue. Everybody is entitled to their opinion and the Bureau's role is they feel that somehow a child is being put in harm's way and they need to step in and make sure it's clarified. That's their prerogative."

The new commercial also features a disclaimer reading "Dramatization. Do not try this at home."

The original commercial still will air on CBC television, a public broadcaster that can set its own standards for content and advertising. Private broadcasters who have been running the commercial will have to switch to the edited version.

The Television Bureau of Canada also demanded the word "Dramatization" be added to another Blue Jays commercial featuring pitcher A.J. Burnett. In that spot, Burnett is late putting his garbage on the curb, arriving as the truck pulls away. Burnett tosses his trash into the departing truck, skimming the head of one of the workers in the process.

No changes were required for a commercial in which Blue Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay catches a bouquet at a wedding before throwing it back at the bride.

The ads were created by the firm Publicis Toronto.
 
The Thomas ad is the funniest of them. The kid goes flying, and my first reaction was surprise, but I liked the ad. It's making a point, and honestly it would be great if the team lived up to the hype in the ads. The TBC is being ridiculous.



By the way Mrs. S - are you getting news feeds directly from Toronto lately? :wink:
 
MrsSpringsteen said:
So is the "private broadcaster" like cable in the US? But cable in the US is not regulated like regular TV is-it's the opposite here.

In Canada the CBC(and their French sister station Radio-Canada) is a "public broadcaster" because it is state-run and funded by our tax dollars, which is why they can set their own content and advertsising.
 
Re: Re: Toronto Blue Jays Forced To Revise Pillow Fight Ad

BonoManiac said:

In Canada the CBC(and their French sister station Radio-Canada) is a "public broadcaster" because it is state-run and funded by our tax dollars, which is why they can set their own content and advertsising.

Thanks-so are all the other channels private?
 
The Television Bureau of Canada regulates ads for broadcast of private networks which means practically everyone except the CBC. Ironically, the restrictions on advertising are much tighter than the programming they pay for.

Restrictions on advertising

The Television Bureau of Canada has elaborate self-regulation guidelines about what is and isn't acceptable in commercials aired by private broadcasters. Here's a sampling of their rules:

Violence: "Even comedic violence can be found to be excessive. For example, hitting someone or something with an object."

Health and safety: "For example, people in cars should be wearing seat belts; appropriate safety gear should be worn when performing certain sports."

Sex: "A commercial must not contain any role playing or acting out fetishes and must not contain any sexually suggestive interaction between two or more models."

Body Parts: "There must be no voyeurism and must not contain any close-ups of body parts; e.g. buttocks, breasts and/or crotches. Also, there can be no shots of headless models."

Masturbation: "There must be no self-stimulation; e.g.: no rubbing of breasts, buttocks and/or crotches."

Language: "Depending on the context, language may or may not be appropriate for all types of programming, and suggested schedule restrictions and rating codes may be assigned when necessary. For example, 'sucks,' 'ass,' 'loser,' etc. Phrases or comments encouraging the bullying of others are unacceptable."

Casinos: "Camera shots of the gambling room should focus on the customers rather than on the money being exchanged or the games being played."

Condoms: "Commercials must deal solely with the issue of disease prevention. . . . Commercials must not make mention of contraception."

As far as I can remember we used to only have two channels you could pick up for free via rabbit ears, CBC and CTV. Since then I have only seen CBC being picked up for free. Although, our networks like CTV, Global and CityTV regularly broadcast shows from U.S networks along with Canadian shows like Corner Gas, Degrassi:The Next Generation, Godivas, Robson Arms or Jeff Ltd. These networks routinely broadcast shows from U.S cable like The Sopranos, Monk and Nip/Tuck and a few years back uncensored Osbournes. Unedited movies are broadcast as well including the nudity and profanity after a certain time in the evening, 9pm or so. Channels that I equate to U.S cable would be Showcase, or Bravo which push the envelope even further in terms of nudity and subject matter. Usually most of these channels are included in general cable or satellite packages.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom