The Parents Television Council is urging its members and the public to contact Samsung and Sprint to reconsider advertising support for a sexually-explicit dating show that’s rated for children as young as 14.
Both companies sponsored the first two episodes of VH1’s Dating Naked, a reality show in which the contestants are completely naked all the time. VH1 rated the episode TV-14, meaning that VH1 execs believe that it is acceptable for 14-year-olds to watch.
“Most parents would be shocked to find their young teenagers watching this sexually-explicit nude dating show. But VH1, in all its wisdom, believes this kind of content is appropriate for middle school and high school aged children. Samsung and Sprint must agree, given their ad buys on the first two episodes and despite our warnings about the content ahead of time. Surely, parents will take pause at these companies for sponsoring Dating Naked and at VH1 for marketing this nude reality show to their children,” said PTC President Tim Winter.
Most of the sponsors from last week’s episode chose not to return this week, and for that we are grateful. But companies like Samsung and Sprint chose to align their corporate brands with the loathsome content on Dating Naked. Teen-targeted explicit programming would not exist but for corporate sponsors that support them with their ad dollars. As such, we are urging our members and the public to contact these companies to express their concerns.”
For PTC Action, visit www.ParentsTV.org/ActDN1.
For more information about why the TV Content Ratings System is failing, visit www.ParentsTV.org/RR.
