Decision to run "Whipped" ad was the wrong one

Recently The Daily Mississippian has received some complaints about an ad published in the March 30 edition. A letter printed on page 3 from the Sarah Isom Center Steering Committee lists some of those complaints.

The ad in question was for a Web site called www.whipped.com. The Web site, in turn, publicizes a film called "Whipped," a comedy about sex and dating. The ad featured the lower half of a woman with her legs spread in the air, wearing only panties and high heels.

Some of our readers felt that the ad was offensive, that it denigrated women by portraying them as mere sexual objects. The DM does not share the attitude suggested by the ad, and we regret allowing the ad to run.

Decisions on what ads to run are made by the advertising staff, led by Mark Roberts and Bo Pentecost. The situation that allowed that ad to run was a series of oversights.

In the case of the "Whipped" ad, senior ad staffers were attending a conference in St. Louis and so were not present to remove the ad. When the order for the ad was taken over the phone, its visual content was not known.

Roberts and Pentecost were surprised by the ad's content, and both agreed that they would not have allowed the ad to run had they seen it first.

Decisions on whether or not to run ads are made on a case-by-case basis. For instance, an ad for www.dailyjolt.com was recently rejected because it featured a condom package and the slogan "Are you coming?"

Conversely, a Neilson's ad featuring an underwear-clad woman was accepted because it was for the purpose of selling underwear. It was in no way gratuitous, and therefore was acceptable.

Like most newspapers, The DM maintains a strict separation of the advertising and editorial departments to avoid the influencing of editorial policy by advertising. In keeping with our policy, The DM will continue to keep a close eye out for offensive content in our ads, although it is inevitable that some ads (as well as some articles) will be offensive to some people.

The DM respects the rights of women and does not wish for our advertising to suggest otherwise.