Newz Forum: OTHER: Actor's backside bared in cold remedy spot

Nicollette Sheridan's back before Monday Night Football: yes, though even that pregame spot sparked apologies galore.

Mickey Rooney's backside in a Super Bowl ad: no. Especially not after Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at last year's Super Bowl ...

Fox has rejected a proposed ad for Airborne, a natural cold remedy, that reveals the 84-year-old's rear end, USA Today reported Friday.

In the spot, the veteran movie star freaks out when someone coughs behind him in a sauna -- jumping up, screaming and heading for the door, with his towel slipping in the confusion and baring his backside for about two seconds, according to the newspaper.

"Our standards department reviewed the ad and it was deemed inappropriate for broadcast," Lou d'Ermilio, spokesman for Fox Sports, told USA Today.

Although there's nudity involved, Airborne co-owner Rider McDowell categorized the commercial as harmless. "It's tantamount to showing a baby's bottom," he told the newspaper, expanding on his statement that there's "nothing sexual about the ad."

Rooney concurred, releasing a statement that included the following: "There's nothing sensual about the brief exposure of my backside, and it's not gratuitous. ... It's a fun spot, and the public deserves to see it."

McDowell told USA Today that he thinks Fox is being "overzealous" in rejecting the ad after months of talks. The $1.2 million Airborne planned to spend on the 15-second spot represents 10 percent of the California-based company's budget, according to the newspaper.

David Rice, McDowell's lawyer, sent a letter Monday to the Federal Communications Commission, arguing that the ad is "amusing and entirely appropriate for broadcast" and urging the commission to issue an order directing Fox to broadcast it, USA Today reported, adding that an FCC spokeswoman had responded Thursday that such an order would never happen because the commission responds to complaints after things air.

source

ESPN

i'm glad that they rejected that ad....i wouldn't want to see that :angry-smiley-034:

I wouldn't want to see that either, but it woulda been friggin hilarious...