Is Super Bowl Ban Good for PETA?

NBC has announced that it will not air PETA's, "Veggie Love," commercial during the Super Bowl. The network says the 30 second spot, "...depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards." Always interested in a bit of controversy, I went online to look at the commercial. I've embedded a copy in this post. If you can't see it, use this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wDE9XpmDHE

'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad
As you've probably noticed, the ad shows a several barely dressed women acting very, "fondly" towards a variety of vegetables. The message of the spot is that research shows that vegetarians make better lovers. The spot is a bit provocative but I don't think I would have spit out my potato chips if I had seen it during the Super Bowl.

I think PETA is overjoyed that the commercial has been banned. A visit to the PETA website shows that the organization likes to produce racy and controversial ads. As a result of being dropped from the Super Bowl, the ad is being talked about and people are watching it online. It's a massive amount of free exposure. Had it been in the Super Bowl telecast, I'm not sure if it would have received as much publicity. My guess is that the director was told to push the bounds of taste as far as he liked, with the knowledge that the goal was to create controversy rather than a commercial that could be shown on network TV.

Just Give Me the Cash...

Today I visited an ATM to make a quick withdrawl. Before I could get my card back, I was surprised to see an advertisement on the screen. It was for an additional bank service. I had the option of pressing a button to say whether I wanted to be contacted with more information. I chose to proceed to the "get your card back" option as quickly as possible and ignored the ad.

There' s few problems I see with ATM advertisements:

1. People aren't in a browsing mood. I go to an ATM for fast service. I'm not looking to linger and think about new services and other ways I can spend my money.
2. ATMs aren't the safest places. Why would I want to hang out any longer at one?
3. By adding as step to the ATM process, the bank has slowed down the line. In today's speed obsessed culture, that's not a good thing.
4. While an on screen ad hardly costs anything I doubt it has a high rate of return. And does the bank gain more of a negative association with its customers by sneaking in a commercial?