Super Bowl Commercial Controversy – Did ABC Censor Their Own Ad?

(Reality TV Magazine) – One of the sexiest and perhaps most controversial commercials during the entire Super Bowl XL was an ABC promo spot for the reality TV show Dancing With the Stars. When the Dancing with the Stars promo spot aired early in the Super Bowl, it showed close-ups of scantily clad female dancers from Dancing with the Stars. One shot featured Stacy Keibler running her hands provocatively along her body. Another shot showed Lisa Rinna wearing a tight red dress that exposed her cleavage. Lisa ran her hands over her breasts. After showing the close-ups, the question “Wardrobe Malfunction?” was flashed on the screen. A couple seconds later the reply “You Wish” appeared. While this commercial might seem fairly innocent, it is surprising that ABC would run this ad considering that some advertisers had difficulty getting sexy ads approved. It took web domain name registrar GoDaddy.com fourteen attempts before they created a commercial non-controversial enough for ABC to air. When another Dancing with the Stars promo spot aired again later in the Super Bowl, there was a noticeable change to the commercial. The commercial still had close-ups of scantily clad female dancers, but the “Wardrobe Malfunction?” joke had been removed. Instead the question “Wanna Watch?” flashed on the screen. A couple seconds later the reply “Who Wouldn’t” appeared. It’s possible that ABC had planned to run two different versions of the promo spot for Dancing with the Stars all along. However, last year, after a GoDaddy.com commercial ran making fun of the Super Bowl’s infamous wardrobe malfunction, the NFL called Fox and the network decided to pull the second airing of the commercial. Did someone take offense to the first promo for Dancing with the Stars leading ABC to run a different version of the promo in the second half?