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

Sofia Black D Elia Proud of Skins

Sofia, Black D'Elia: Proud of Skins, No Fan of Snooki

Sofia Black D’Elia stars on the controversial new MTV show Skins.

As Tea, a teenage lesbian, she knows the show is bound to raise eyebrows, but defends her work on it despite the early pull-out of advertisers.

“Ss an actor on the show I’m proud of everything that we’ve done,” Sofia tells Steppin' Out. “We created something that we really care about."



"We feel the show has so much heart and potential and can impact so many teens,” Sofia said. “If people are going to focus on a 17-year-old having a sex scene as opposed to the rest of the entire series, there’s nothing else I can really say."

"I think those people are missing out. For parents who are afraid to let their children watch the show, they probably have some serious trust issues with their kids if they think they can be that easily persuaded by a television series."

Of parents calling this the worst show ever, she says, "I think they need to talk to their kids. There’s a serious lack of communication if they’re not letting them watch a one-hour scripted drama with the hopes they won’t get into trouble."

“We’re not raising America’s children, parents are! If you’re nervous about it, watch it with them. Maybe it will be a great conversation starter on topics they normally aren't comfortable talking about with their kids, like sex and drugs."

Surprisingly insightful stuff, no?

The hot new MTV show is rivaling Jersey Shore in the ratings, but Sofia isn’t among the legions of fans enamored by its pint-sized star, Snooki.

“I’ve never been impressed with anything Snooki has done,” she said, but did compliment the blockbuster hit as “funny and entertaining.”

News From: www.thehollywoodgossip.com

Bears Packers Potato Skins Recipe

Bears Packers Potato Skins Recipestime

If my husband’s position on his favorite chair in front of the TV is any indication, there are plenty of NFL games on today. Whether you’re watching the Bears Packers game, Jets Steelers game, or any other NFL games, you’ll need a snack – preferably one that has a better nutritional profile than Doritos. Potato skins are always a hands-down winner, even among those who aren’t glued to NFL game times. Potato skins are equally suited to an evening on the couch in front of a movie.

This may seem like an obvious recipe, but cheesy potato skins are a quintessential finger food that you never think to make at home. The spice mixture adds a lot of flavor, and Canadian (back) bacon is much leaner than the breakfast variety – although you could use either. I always use intensely flavored cheeses, like old cheddar, instead of the low fat kind, which tend to be rubbery with very little flavor, so you need more of it anyway.

Potato Skins

4 medium baking potatoes (russets work well and have sturdy skins)
1-2 Tbsp. olive or canola oil
1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper
1/2 tsp. each chili powder and curry powder (optional)
1/4 cup chopped Canadian (back) bacon, regular bacon, or turkey pepperoni
2 green onions or a small bunch of chives, chopped
3/4 cup shredded old cheddar cheese
Salsa and low fat sour cream

Preheat oven to 400F. Poke the potatoes with a fork and bake them (directly on the oven rack) for about an hour, until tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Cut each potato in quarters lengthwise and scoop out the pulp, leaving a 1/4” thick shell. (Keep the potato for something else – I fry it up in a little oil the next morning with whatever’s left of the spice mixture for amazing home fries!). Place potato skins on a baking sheet and brush with a bit of oil. Combine the salt, pepper, chili and curry powder and sprinkle over top. Bake for another 10 minutes, until crispy.

Sprinkle with bacon, green onions and cheese, and bake for another 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. Serve with salsa and low fat sour cream. Serves 4.

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