Subway sandwich chain pulls advertising US version of Skins

Subway sandwich chain pulls advertising from US version of Skins

Hedonistic exploits of teenagers have not gone down well with US advertisers. Five companies have now pulled advertising

The sandwich chain Subway has become the latest company to distance itself from the US version of Skins, pulling its advertising from the show after a pressure campaign by a parenting group.

The US Skins, based on the British show, premiered on 17 January, but the fictional hedonistic exploits of its teenage cast have not gone down well with US advertisers. Five companies have now pulled their advertising from the programme.

A representative for Subway told The Hollywood Reporter the company would not be running its ads on the second episode of the show because "it is not fit for our brand".

The sandwich giant had been targeted by the Parent Television Council, which urged its 1.3m members to contact Subway via email and letters to the chain's thousands of outlets around the United States.

Fast food chain Taco Bell and chewing gum maker Wrigley had already decided to pull out of the show during the past few days, saying Skins was not a good fit for their brands. General Motors and tax preparation firm H&R Block have also disassociated themselves, saying that their adverts which ran during the first episode of Skins were run by mistake.

The Parents Television Council, which has described Skins as "the most dangerous program ever", last week called for the US government to open a child pornography investigation into the show. Several of the cast are under 18, and the PTC said the content of the show could violate US laws on the sexual exploitation of minors. US child pornography laws forbid the visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Skins attracted 3.3 million US viewers on its debut, the vast majority between ages 12 and 34, according to TV ratings figures.

MTV has declined to comment on specific advertisers. But the youth-oriented network said it has "an ongoing dialogue with our advertising partners about the best fit for them on our networks. We know that not every show works for every advertiser.

"That said, we are confident that Skins will continue to connect with the audience it was created for and that advertisers will take advantage of the opportunity to reach them."

News From: www.guardian.co.uk

Olbermann steps down from MSNBC

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Keith Olbermann, the outspokenly progressive host of MSNBC’s “Countdown” and bête noire of right-wing talkers, abruptly stepped down from the cable news network Friday night — almost two years before his contract was set to expire.

While he gave no specific reasons, Olbermann told viewers in a farewell message that “there were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show — but never the show itself — was just too much for me.”
Olbermann had locked horns with NBC Universal management on various occasions, most recently last fall when he was briefly suspended for making contributions to the campaigns of Democratic candidates. He complained at the time that the network’s policy on the issue was inconsistent.

He was also a relentless tormentor of other cable personalities, including Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck of Fox News, with both men frequently earning his “Worst Person In The World” honor. News Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!nws/quotes/nls/nws (NWS 16.91, +0.56, +3.43%) , the parent of Fox, is also the publisher of this report.

His departure, after eight years on the air, comes just days before cable giant Comcast Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!cmcsa/quotes/nls/cmcsa (CMCSA 23.53, +0.27, +1.16%) takes over operational control of NBC Universal in the wake of the company’s purchase of a majority stake in it from General Electric Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!ge/quotes/nls/ge (GE 19.74, +1.31, +7.11%) .

An MSNBC spokesman, cited on the network’s website, said the impending takeover had nothing to do with Olbermann’s departure while Comcast said in a written statement that it “pledged from the day the deal was announced that we would not interfere with NBC Universal’s news operations. We have not and we will not.”

Olbermann was MSNBC’s most popular figure and hosted the highest rated show of any cable news network outside of Fox, which dominates the top spots. In 2008, he signed a new four-year contract for a reported $30 million. It is unclear for how long the terms of his departure may keep him off the air.

William Spain is a MarketWatch staff writer in Chicago.

News From: www.marketwatch.com

Kristen Stewart’s Hair and Makeup Vogue Cover Beauty Scoop

Beauty Scoop: Get Kristen Stewart’s Hair and Makeup From Her February Vogue Cover!

Vogue magazines are flying off newsstands left and right and you know why: Kristen Stewart is on the cover, looking impossibly pretty. This is a perfect and flawless look for you, Twihards and beauty fans, so I went straight to the experts to find out EXACTLY what products were used on the shoot. Read on to get Kristen’s stunning cover look!

Kristen’s makeup was achieved using all Estee Lauder products. You can check them out in the gallery below. I live for these products: the formulas are easy on the skin, the colors are beautiful and the makeup stays put when you apply it. Be sure to check out that limited edition Wild Blossom lip color before it’s gone, HL fans. It’s gorgeous in person.

As far as her hair goes, none other than celebrity hairstylist (and industry legend) Oribe worked on the actress’ lovely locks. How did he get the look?

1. Spray the hair, section by section, with Oribe Volumista Mist for Volume. This plumping mist swells the hair shaft and leaves it feeling thicker with great texture and hold. Blow-dry with a round brush for added body and movement.
2. Mist Oribe Soft Lacquer Heat Styling Spray on the hair, spraying one section at a time. The high-sheen, light-hold styling spray prevents frizz and locks in softness and shine for an intense polish. Use a large 1.5 inch barrel curling iron to curl the whole head.
3. Brush out the curls to keep the style looking natural but bodiful.
4. To set the look, finish with a mist of the Oribe Superfine Hair Spray to keep the style in place. Superfine Hair Spray delivers medium hold and an ultra-dry finish that won’t dampen or dull smooth styles.


Story From: www.hollywoodlife.com

Taco Bell Pulls Ads From MTV Skins

Risqué scenes on the hit MTV drama “Skins” have caused one company to remove its commercials from the program and have spurred a call by a TV watchdog group for a federal investigation.Taco Bell said Thursday that it had shifted its ads to other programs because “Skins” was “not a fit for our brand.” MTV did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Friday.

“Skins” gained attention earlier in the week when The New York Times reported that MTV executives had ordered edits to coming episodes of the show for fear of running afoul of child pornography statutes. Some of the actors in “Skins” are under the age of 18. In response, MTV said in a statement that the episodes of “Skins” will comply with all legal requirements.

After the Times report, the Parents Television Council, a TV watchdog group with conservative tendencies, called on Congress and the Justice Department to “open an investigation regarding child pornography and exploitation.”

The group asserted in a letter on Thursday that the program may be in violation of federal statutes pertaining to portrayals of child sexual abuse and sexual behavior.

“Since it is not necessary for Viacom or MTV to distribute the material in order to be in violation of the law, we call upon your committees to immediately investigate Viacom and MTV for the production of this material. Furthermore, we urge you in the strongest possible terms to compel the Attorney General to mount an investigation by the Department of Justice into whether the production of ‘Skins’ has violated federal law meant to protect minors from exploitation,” the group wrote to the chairs of the Congressional judiciary committees.

The group also criticized Taco Bell for advertising on the first episode of “Skins,” which was shown on Monday night.

A Taco Bell spokesman said Thursday evening, “We advertise on a variety of MTV programs that reach our core demographic of 18 to 34 year olds, which included the premiere episode of Skins. Upon further review, we’ve decided that the show is not a fit for our brand and have moved our advertising to other MTV programming.”

The one-two punch — the group’s letter and Taco Bell’s decision — drew attention from television networks. The Fox News commentators Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity both blasted MTV on Thursday night, and the morning shows on NBC, ABC and CBS all broadcast reports about the so-called “Skins” scandal on Friday morning.

News From: mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com