Anti-Porn Groups Urge Boycott of 'Playboy Club' Show Advertisers
Anti-porn groups are targeting advertisers of "The Playboy Club," an NBC drama based the chain of nightclubs started by Hugh Hefner, in an effort to get the television network to cancel the controversial show before its fall debut.
The TV series will "contribute to the sexual objectification and exploitation of women and encourage greater acceptance of pornography,” said Patrick A. Trueman, president of Morality in Media, a faith-based group in New York that fights porn in the media.
Trueman's group is circulating an online petition asking supporters to pledge not to watch the show, urge NBC to shut down the show, and boycott advertisers of the show.
"Harm from pornography is a worldwide pandemic and Playboy started it all. NBC should not throw fuel on that fire."
Added Trueman, “Sexual exploitation has its cost and its time the promoters of such harm feel the pain."
Florida Family Association, which flew a banner warning people about Gay Day at Disney World earlier this month, is also joining the war against NBC over the show. The group said it will document all the advertisers of the show and publicize the names of those companies online and in emails to supporters.
David Caten, FFA executive director, said he plans to target Comcast and NBC to urge them to pull the show, according to Sunshine State News. The group also plans to pressure "Playboy Club" show advertisers to withdraw their sponsorship.
"The Playboy Club" series is based on the real-life Playboy Club in Chicago, which became one of the busiest nightclubs in the 1960s. The show follows the drama that unfolds between the city's powerful movers and shakers who frequent the club and the scantily-clad Playboy "bunnies" that wait on the men there.
Hugh Hefner did a voiceover for one of the first episodes in the show, describing the Playboy Club as a place "where everything was perfect, where life was magic, where the rules were broken and fantasies became realities for everyone who walked in the doors. It wasn’t the 50s anymore … and that was my kingdom. It was the place where dreams came true.”
NBC calls the show "a provocative new drama about a time and place that challenged the social mores."
The show is even generating controversy from within the NBC family.
Earlier this week, KSL, an NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, announced it was pulling the plug on "The Playboy Club" because it felt the content would offend a large portion of its viewers and it didn't want to be associated with something that promotes pornography.
"For us, the issue is about the Playboy brand, something we believe is associated with pornography and something we don’t want to further in our programming," the station's programming chief, Michelle Torsak, told The Washington Post.
Trueman said NBC should cut its ties to "Playboy Club," saying it should follow the lead of Hefner's ex-fiance Crystal Harris, who on Tuesday called off their wedding.
"Maybe Crystal Harris is learning what women everywhere have learned – that sleazy Hugh Hefner and his Playboy philosophy are good for no one," said Trueman.
"NBC will also learn that a marriage to Hefner and Playboy will make for dreary future."
