Claudia Opdenkelder thought ABC’s “Cougar Town” was the perfect venue on which to advertise her specialty dating service CougarLife.com, but ABC thought otherwise and now she’s steamed. Opdenkelder’s business helps older women get together with younger men.
The irony of the entire situation, of course, is that the program is about a 40-year-old woman who finds herself back in the dating scene surrounded by younger men.
Other networks are said to be running the commercial, and ABC even said it passed muster under is own broadcast standards, but still pulled it, Opdenkelder says, at the last minute.
“Unfortunately ABC has demonstrated a real lack of tolerance towards the diverse relationships American women choose to pursue,” she said.
RBR-TVBR observation: Our rule of thumb is to accept all advertising unless there is a compelling reason not to. It seems particularly odd that ABC would approve scripts for this particular program while turning down an ad with the same thematic material. It’s like if one of those reality courtroom shows turned down a lawyer ad. Unbelievable.
