There has been much controversy as to whether or not MTV should proceed with the airing of their new series, Skins. There is altercation between parents and the network, saying that the television show is too explicit for their kids to watch. Skins is known for its racy, inappropriate content and many are worried about the message it’s sending to the youth of our country. Some are even calling the new series “child pornography,” which is causing many companies to pull out from advertising on the series.
Despite all of the negative comments, the show is doing relatively well, yet no one seems willing enough to place advertisements on the show. This is due to all of its negative commentary. Advertisers are fleeing from MTV’s Skins because it could possibly make them lose money, rather than gain money by advertising on it. Most parents would go against any company that advocates such a vulgar show. Taco Bell, Wrigley and G.M. are among the advertisers that have pulled out from advertising on Skins.
During an interview with TODAY, a Taco Bell spokesperson announced “We’ve decided that the show is not fit for our brand and have moved our advertising to other MTV programming.” This could affect the program greatly, due to the fact that without advertisers, the program will lose money, and soon won’t have enough money to keep airing. Parents Television Council President, Tim Winter, urged any companies that were still advertising on Skins to remove their ads, which included L’Oreal and Foot Locker. One company that doesn’t plan on pulling out is Clearasil. Spokesperson of Clearasil tells THR, “Clearasil buys advertising time in blocks and the networks slot our ads wherever they have free time.” However, the PTC won’t let this happen. Tim Winter stays in his place, encouraging people to contact their state attorneys general about the violation in child pornography laws, which is where the bigger problems lie upon.
The Parents Television Council acknowledged the show for its inappropriate and sexual content. “This may well be the most dangerous show for children that we have ever seen,” said president of the council, in a report with The Hollywood Reporter. The show has gone so far as to questioning whether the show is breaking child pornography laws or not. MTV executives have asked the Skins producers to calm down the content of the show, which shows that MTV possibly admits to statements that the show is breaking child pornography laws. The British or original version of the show was so successful that it was important for MTV to keep the same image portrayed in the British version, and follow the British scripts.
There is question as to why MTV would air such a questionable show, knowing it would cause much controversy. A possibility could be that all the attention towards the program is actually advertising the show, without real advocates. The attention the series is getting is actually helping it gain more viewers. Basically, as the controversy increases, so does the number of viewers.
Despite everything, MTV plans on running the whole season, or all 10 episodes of the show. In an interview with THR, David Janollari stated, “We’re in it for the long run.”