White Castle Slides Into MTV's'Skins'

Most product advertisers have
pulled out of MTV's controversial drama Skins, but this week fast-food chain White Castle slid in.

Nearly all of the other commercial
time in Monday's episode was occupied by movie trailers, video game ads, public
service announcements and promotions for other MTV Shows.

The Parents Television Council
called Skins, which depicts the sex and drug activities of a group of teens,
the most dangerous show for children ever to appear on television.

The show also gained notoriety
because executives at MTV and its parent company Viacom reportedly were
concerned that it might be violating child pornography laws because some cast
members were teenagers.

After its premiere episode,
several advertisers including Taco Bell, Subway, General Motors, H&R Block,
L'Oreal and Schick pulled out of the show. The product marketers that appeared
in subsequent episodes-Clearasil and Red Bull-haven't had a spot in the show in
weeks.

Boosted by having a new episode of
Jersey Shore as a lead-in, Skins premiered to 3.3 million viewers.
Ratings dropped off sharply but in the last few weeks have leveled off at just
over 1 million total viewers.

The final episode of Skins airs
this Monday.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.