The Federal Communications Commission continues to crack down on broadcast TV decency. There is even talk about rules for cable. But that hasn't stopped Dodge (DCX), Comcast (CMCSA) and Volkswagen from flirting with language limits, which are the same for ads as for the shows in which they air.
They have created ads that make obvious from the context that a character said a banned word — particularly the "s" word popular in slang — but trail off or "bleep" so the actual word is not heard.
"We ad people try to find ways to call attention to what we're doing," says ad expert Suzanne Powers, chief strategy officer for agency TBWA/Chiat/Day. The "bleep is unexpected. It's an interesting way to disrupt the viewer and do something out of the ordinary."...