Have a seat by the campfire boys and girls as I tell you a tale about how one lovely lady and her co-horts in Canada took just about every news organization and a multitude of websites and blogs in the US and around the world for a ride to promote a “dating website” by taking advantage of the outrage over CBS Television accepting an ad from Focus On The Family for the Super Bowl.
It all started this past Thursday, January 28 when FOX News posted this storyon their website written by Hollie McKay, which reads in part, After days of deliberations on whether to run a controversial Super Bowl ad from gay dating site ManCrunch.com, CBS has not yet reached a decision.
For those who may not have been following this great “fiasco of journalism”, the story refers to a website called Man Crunch, “Where Many Many Many Men Come Out to Play”, and how the owners of the website were trying to buy ad time from CBS for the Super Bowl.
Well boys and girls, as they say about a YouTube video, the story went viral. New articles with links to the Fox News story started popping up the same day on mainstream websites such as The Huffington Post, as well as LGBT blogs and websites, among the first was JMG.
Now, what a great many of the postings on blogs and websites have in common aside to a reference to the Fox News story, CBS and Man Crunch, is the “contradiction” by CBS to accept an ad from Focus On The Family, an organization which among other things is anti-gay, and as will end up happening on the 29th, CBS rejecting the ad from Man Crunch.
On Friday the 29th, the story hit, via a tweet from CNBC’s Darren Rovellno, that CBS would not accept the Man Crunch ad and again that story went viral too, this time with the likes of the NY Daily News, the New York Post,CNN and even later Friday evening on the CBS News website, which uses a source for their story, about their own company mind you, The Hollywood Reporter.
Before we break out the marshmallows for roasting and hearing the second part to our tale, I must tell you this.
When this writer first starting coming across the story on Thursday and reading the content of the FOX News article, the built in journalist and former CBS employee antenna went up and I figured something was afoot and not correct, which is why until this posting, there has been no mention of CBS/Man Crunch.
What led me to that observation if you will, and decided not to join the fray of the many, was the information regarding CBS and Man Crunch, the information of which was provided by Man Crunch. Every time “a CBS rep” was written it was done so with no name. Also in some of the articles there was an unsettling contradiction in what CBS was purported to be saying and Man Crunch’s statements and offering of information.
Even the “statement from CBS” as to why the ad would not be accepted was information provided by Man Crunch and again with no names of CBS spokesman or representatives. So needless to say the whole thing didn’t sit right and I opted not to add this blog to the ever growing media taking this all in.
Now you can break out the marshmallows, here’s the second part.
Late Saturday afternoon, January 30, I was doing my ”trip around the block” checking websites/blogs and JMG had another posting about Man Crunch, this one from Friday, and in the comments I noticed one from Jason D, in which he references to a website GayDailyHot (NOTSFW due to gay oriented ads) and a posting which says that Man Crunch is yet another site created by Simone Dadoun-Cohen, the very lovely young lady first mentioned at the beginning of this posting.
GayDailyHot wrote in part, Mancrunch isn’t a LGBT-owned business and it isn’t a “gay dating site” at all.. it’s just the “gay niche” site made by a clueless straight company for publicity.
It appears to be from the same gold-digging skank who brought you Establishedmen, ArrangementSeekers.com and Cougar Life. Those are owned by Simone Dadoun-Cohen, and this is probably just another way for her to manipulate people for money.
This company seems to be just using the gay community’s political strength for some cash. It looks like they made a “gay” commercial they knew would be rejected so the gay community would get angry and generate a lot of free press for them.
So with that in mind, I decided to have a good old fashion look-see. Join me and make up your own mind.
Established Men media contact .. Man Crunch media contact … same phone number, and also look and see how the websites are similar, here and here, on the same, how do the computer geeks call it, framework, and how the FAQ’s and answers are pretty much the same, here and here.
And there you are boys and girls, one smart classy cookie and co-horts up in Canada, who took advantage of the outrage of CBS selling ad time to Focus On The Family. Just who is Simone Dadoun-Cohen ?
ABC News’ Nightline once did a story on her and her website in an article on May 18, 2009 (which the video below is about) and was also mentioned May 13, 2009 in reference to dating sites in an article in the “money section” at the ABC News website, titled, Sugar Daddy Sites Attract Sexual Blackmailers
Have a look at the video to meet the former stripper who has bamboozled CBS plus a host of others around the world, using Focus On The Family, it’s anti-gay sentiment and the outrage of CBS accepting a “pro-life ad” from the group.
Dadoun-Cohen and co-horts have used that hot-button news story to promote a “gay dating service” website with no cost to her or her company while a great many well intentioned people found fault with CBS for creating a double standard in accepting an ad from Focus On The Family and not an ad from a gay advertiser. An ad which most likely wouldn’t have been accepted based on it’s amateurish production alone.
As PT Barnum was purported to have said, “there’s a sucker born every minute“, it would seem Simone Dadoun-Cohen and co-horts have certainly proved that in this little farce of using the passionate feelings against CBS within the LGBT community, and LGBT blog & website publishers and authors/writers, for their own profit, promotion and exploitation, where on one website male customers pay $49 monthly, plus additional fees for extra frills such as sending virtual gifts to, in the words of the website, a “perfect princess.” as was reported in an article back in June of 2009 at the Toronto Sun. Dadoun-Cohen was a York University student earning between $800 and $2,000 a night stripping at a Toronto-based gentleman’s club, a world that completely contrasts her life now as a cushy suburbanite, married with three young children.
I do believe there are a great many lessons to be learned, the least of which for reporters, if it looks like a cow-pie, smells like a cow-pie, it most likely is a cow-pie and best not to step into it.
I learned that lesson the hard way a very long time ago on my great-grandfather’s farm.
Above is a link which shows the clearance report sent to Man Crunch and “signed” by Kristin Bartlett, editor, CBS Program Practices.
The report reads in part, CBS Standards and Practices has reviewed your proposed Super Bowl ad and concluded that the creative is not within the Network’s Broadcast Standards for Super Bowl Sunday. Moreover, our Sales Department has had difficulty verifying your organization’s credit status.
This writer is confident the document is authentic (and not another volley of bamboozlement) as it is similar to one which we used at the CBS Radio Group in Hartford, CT when I worked there in the capacity of national advertising continuity manager.
Mike Bawden of the website Brand Central Station left a comment on this posting today (Monday 2/1/10) in which he also feels the whole Man Crunch/CBS debacle is a sham.
Bawden conducted an interview with a representative of Man Crunch, Dominic Friesen, and posted the interview in its entirety this past Friday January 29. You can read the interview here.
Bawden finished his piece by writing, After all, the outrage we should feel here isn’t about gay dating it’s about the manipulation of an all-to-willing media and people who would rather believe in grand conspiracies and imagined enemies than take the time to think about the messages they’re being fed and how realistic or reasonable they are.
In November ABC-TV threw a fit and a half over Adam Lambert’s appearance during the American Music Awards, going as far as censoring the West Coast feed, canceling Lambert’s scheduled appearance on Good Morning Americaand pre-taping an interview on The View.
The outrage of course over his homo-erotic antics during his performance of the title track of his debut album, For Your Entertainment. Shocking, absolutely shocking was the outcry that this could go on during prime-time TV when so many “innocents” would be watching. Lambert was all but castrated by the tidal wave of outrage from the media.
But what a difference a month makes when in the video clip below, on ABC’s classic soap opera, One Life To Live, the soap had what many have called the first gay sex scene in network daytime television.
Now I know sometimes I can be a little dense, but daytime, doesn’t that mean before the sun goes down and when kids might be around to watch, and I think when some kids where off for school vacation ?
As Ricky Ricardo would say, “you has sum esplaining to do Lucy !”
[Writer's note - this posting has been moved up from it's original post date of 12/8 to reflect the news about Uganda dropping the death penalty against gays. Original posting heading - "Uganda Be Kidding Me" Richard Cohen Removing the Gayness"]
Rachel Maddow takes a look at Richard Cohen who describes himself as an ex-gay and is the creator of the ex-gay, gay intervention organization International Healing Foundation.
Cohen’s theory of getting the gay out of people is through cuddling. (see related stories #1and#2)
Uganda To Drop Death Penalty – Life In Prison For Gays
Uganda will drop the death penalty and life imprisonment for gays in a refined version of an anti- gay bill expected to be ready for presentation to Parliament in two weeks, James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of ethics and integrity, said.
The draft bill, which is under consideration by a parliamentary committee, will drop the two punishments to attract the support of religious leaders who are opposed to these penalties, Buturo said today in a phone interview from the capital, Kampala.
Ugandan lawmaker David Bahati presented a private member’s bill on Oct. 14 which sought the death penalty and life imprisonment for gay people in the country. The Ugandan government supports the bill because homosexuality and lesbianism are “repugnant to the Ugandan culture,” Buturo said. Still, it favors a more refined set of punishments, he said.
Logo, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks has announced the launch of LOGOonline’s “Year in Review” video hub, featuring the best Logo video content of 2009. The launch tops off a year of tremendous growth for the network as its online properties including, LOGOonline.com, TripOutGayTravel.com, AfterEllen.com, AfterElton.com, 365Gay.com, DowneLink.com and NewNowNext.com reached new highs. The constellation of sites house close to 28,000 clips and over 2,500 hours of video online, making LOGOonline and its sister sites the premiere destination for online video geared toward the LGBT audience. The Logo Constellation currently stands as the highest-trafficked, wholly-owned family of sites serving the LGBT community in 2009, according to Comscore, through October, 2009.
User engagement with the Logo Constellation soared in 2009, as the average monthly time spent per unique visitor reached a staggering 46 minutes. On average, LOGOonline users consumed nearly 4 video streams per visit (Omniture). Additionally, year-to-date, average monthly unique visitors and average monthly video streams to the Logo constellation are up 11% and 97%, respectively above the same time period in 2008 (Omniture). The 2009 “Year in Review” hub, which launches Friday, November 20, houses several playlists that highlight the best music, movies, pop culture and Logo programming of the year.
“Logo has quickly become a leader in the LGBT digital space by offering fans a tremendous amount of online video, editorial commentary and pop culture moments that can’t be found anywhere else,” said Lisa Sherman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Logo. “From the high-energy fun and drama on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ to the first-hand reporting at the Prop 8 hearings, LOGOonline has continued to deliver compelling, informative and entertaining content to online users. We look forward to continued growth and success as we plan for the biggest stories, events and entertainment of 2010 that will appeal to our gay and lesbian audience and their family and friends.”
Logo’s content is distributed across all leading download-to-own, streaming and mobile services. The most influential brand for the most influential audience, Logo provides a mix of original and acquired entertainment as well as news, social networking and community building that are authentic, smart, fun, entertaining, and inclusive. Logo joins MTV Networks’ roster of popular and highly targeted brands which include MTV, Comedy Central, VH1 and Spike TV.
Back in September I wrote about KREV-FM 92.7 (formerly KNGY-FM Energy 92.7) being sold to broadcasting entrepreneur Ed Stolz. This radio station which is in San Francisco was formatted and marketed to the large Bay area LGBT community among others.
That is until Stolz took over and fired the on air staff and changed the format to Top 40. While some in the LGBT blogging world had accused Stolz of being homophobic, and as I wrote that wasn’t for me to say one way or the other, it does appear that the new morning jock has had his homophobic moment in an excuse for laughs.
According to the website SFist, Today (November 2), the host of the Dog House Morning Show, Elvis, yelled homophobic slurs at a person he called as a “prank”. Elvis is the stage name of Dan Lay who broadcasts from Las Vegas as part of the Dog House Morning Show airing in San Francisco on KREV and in Las Vegas on KFRH.
During the broadcast, Elvis yelled at the person who answered his call accusing him of stealing an NFL team flag from his car. The startled man he called said he didn’t steal the flag and added that doesn’t even watch football. Elvis replied “What kind of man doesn’t watch football. What are you a (bleeped out by station) ?”
The man hangs up at this point. Elvis calls him back and a woman answers the phone. Elvis says “Where is that butt sniffer I was just talking to?” He goes on to yell at the woman and then calls another person and makes fun of his accent.
Amazing what passes for “humor” these days. Is it any wonder that people can be sucked in by the likes of NOM, Maggie Gallagher, Stand For Marriage, the Mormons, Rush Limbaugh and FAUX News.
Wednesday night I was briefly on James Hipps’ show Gay Agenda on BlogTalkRadio, briefly only because I worked until 8:00 PM and just made it on for the last 25 minutes of his program. One of the things I was discussing was how taken in some in the United States can be by the aforementioned above and how intolerance is the norm for them.
Compassion, that’s a word they can’t spell much less look up in the dictionary. The same who bang the drum against same-sex marriage based on religious beliefs. Who’s ? Their’s or God’s. I find it quite ironic that those who call out against same-sex marriage and want to preserve the sanctity of marriage do so at the behest of their God.
Well their God isn’t the same as mine. My God shows compassion and inclusion, not exclusion.
But getting back to the radio station. One thing I said to James, the reason Rush and all the others have a platform to spew hate of one form or another is because it sells. It makes a radio station’s ratings go up, ergo, makes advertisers happy and willing to shell out bucks. It certainly shows what kind of a country we live in and how socially retarded we are.
As Edward R Murrow said and applies to radio and TV even today, If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations which would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable.
That’s according to an article at the website Marketing which reads in part, Mr. Sub has fired its agency BOSafter the sandwich chain was accused of promoting homophobia in its latest advertising campaign.
The “not everyone likes surprises” advertising broke in late September with three humorous spots, two for TV and one online, based on the insight that customers know what to expect when they dine at Mr. Sub.
It was the online execution, originally scheduled for a TV run next year, that became the subject of a letter/e-mail writing campaign by the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers). The ad showed a family sitting around the dining room table when the father cheerfully announces that he’s gay. Upon questioning by a grimacing young girl who is presumably his daughter: “You mean like gay, gay?” he responds, patting her on the head affectionately: “Like super, super gay.”
After hearing complaints from some of the CAW’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members, the union began contacting other members last weekend advising them of the spot and recommending they contact Mr. Sub to express their displeasure, said Shannon Devine, a CAW communications director.
BOS also quoted (in an e-mail to Marketing) Duane Booth, a writer for Canadian-based website About: Gay Life Journal, who in a post about the Mr. Sub ads, wrote: “We need to lighten up. Sometimes in life we have to learn to laugh at ourselves and allow others to laugh along with us. By doing so, we are far more likely to break down barriers and be accepted for who we are and should be treated as–normal, regular people.”
“We would like to conclude by saying that it is most unfortunate that Mr. Sub has chosen to terminate our relationship over the complaints for an ad which they approved,” said the BOS statement.
Below is the commercial as posted on YouTube. Should the video be pulled, it can be viewed along with the full article at the link above. And I, as I’ve written many times before in regards to being an LGBT and having a “thick skin” agree with Duane Booth.
