The advertisements during this year’s Super Bowl asked me to drink more beer, eat lots of chips and buy lots of cars and trucks. Just in case those ads – and the game itself – weren’t enough to elevate me to proper testosterone levels, I was reminded of the vast array of medication available to those who need some “enhancement.”  Contributing to the excitement, AdAge.com declared the Super Bowl a “touchdown for erectile dysfunction drugs.”

Indeed, CBS’s Super Bowl broadcast delivered the American dream to our living rooms: driving a fast car with greasy-chip hands, a beer-soaked mind and a big erection. If this doesn’t sound like fun, then you’re probably a communist.

There were a few commercials that we didn’t see last night. Among the absent was an ad produced by MoveOn.org, a left-leaning group aimed at “bringing ordinary people back into politics,” according to its Web site.

The ad in question shows children working various less-than-desirable jobs with the tag line, “Guess who’s going to pay off President Bush’s $1 trillion deficit?” In fact, a recent report issued by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that the deficit will balloon to almost $2 trillion by 2014.

CBS decided not to air the commercial, citing its long-standing policy against “advocacy advertising” as grounds for the exclusion. According to the CBS Web site, the ad was pulled because it attempted “to use Super Bowl airtime as a platform for public debate.” Dana McClintock, a representative for CBS, stated that the policy is an effort to stop the influence of those who have pockets deep enough to weigh in on “controversial issues of public importance.”

Before CBS is mockingly labeled the “Conservative Broadcasting Service,” it is worth noting that they have probably banned ads from both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. They should certainly be afforded the ability to decide what is and is not aired on their stations. After all, controversial ads can cause quite a stir.

Interestingly, though, CBS did air an ad sponsored by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. You may remember the ONDCP from an ad they ran during last year’s Super Bowl that linked buying pot to supporting terrorism. Though the connection between bongs and bombs might seem strange on the surface, we can all rest assured that the claim was based on the best intelligence available at the time.

The line between what is and what is not advocacy in advertising seems like a blurry one. All television commercials ask viewers to come to a simple conclusion – buy it. Whether it is computers, Chia Pets, or political stances, the bottom line is moving the product. CBS has probably designed its policy on advocacy advertising in order to best meet the desires of the CBS audience. It seems some audience members may be more important than others when it comes to pleasing the viewer.

Recently, CBS was on the receiving end of one of the sweetest, swiftest deals in media regulation history. In an effort to maintain diversity in the media, Congress voted to limit any one company from broadcasting to more than 35 percent of the country. This ruling, according to Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, would have forced Viacom, CBS’s parent company, to sell some of its television stations in order to comply with the mandate.

The White House quietly renegotiated the limit with a few members of Congress and raised the cap from 35 to 39 percent. Why 39 percent? It happens to be the exact proportion of national media markets in which CBS has a presence. So, instead of selling off some of its lucrative media outlets, Viacom and CBS were permitted to keep all of their television stations.

As the old saying goes, “you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you.” It seems that CBS is still digesting the White House’s generous cuisine.

Michael Huge is a graduate student in journalism and communication. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].