The Super Bowl Ads: Are We Losing Morals to Sell Products?

(GoDaddy.com via YouTube)

By Diana Bridgett , Christian Post Contributor

February 4, 2013|3:55 pm

GoDaddy.com and Calvin Klein ads left more to be desired among Super Bowl watchers.

Some Super Bowl viewers posted comments of disgust and disapproval at the racy GoDaddy commercial featuring super model Bar Refaeli and a regular "Joe" displaying too much PDA that included unnecessary slobbering and sound effects. Meanwhile, Calvin Klein featured a male model's body with obscene close ups during an underwear ad that raised the issue of sexual objectification of male (as opposed to female, in this case).

The former chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele tweeted, "That #godaddy commercial was VERY DISTURBING."

While NFL Stats wrote, "That GoDaddy commercial <<< #disgusting they wasted about 3 million dollars on it too." And Michael Gallagher said, "The Calvin Klein underwear commercial was on the WRONG CHANNEL! SO MUCH MALE SEXUAL CONFUSION!"

With the CBS Network charging between $3.8 and $4 million for a 30-second commercial spot during the Super Bowl, it's no wonder that the most-watched sports event in the nation is a time where big companies debut their best commercials. It's even been said that people watch the Super Bowl on TV more for the commercials than the game.

But with the recent batch of Super Bowl commercials, some advertisers are claiming that creative marketing has been replaced by the non-creative idea of using sex to sell products.

Roland Martin interviewed Tom Burrell of Tom Burrell Communications this morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Burrell had this to say on the topic: "Commercials are just not as good as they were. A trick was played on the advertisers last night. The game was actually better than the commercials."

And Akia Garnett, CEO of Brandbuilder, a marketing and branding solutions firm, said this in a statement to The Christian Post: "It may appear to many that we as a culture have lost our moral compass, especially when we see advertisement and branding campaigns that feature racy content many times during family bonding time before 8pm."

It appears that the American public has noticed the lower quality of Super Bowl commercials this year. CBS News Analyst Frank Luntz polled viewers and found that there was disappointment that the ads were not as good this year as they were last year.

"We have that power as consumers, and we can show our approval or disapproval with a purchase or not," commented Garnett of Brandbuilder about the Super Bowl ads.