US advertisers ditch ‘dangerous’ Skins series

An American version of the cult UK teen drama Skins has caused uproar since its stateside launch this month, with big name advertisers leaving in droves after the series was branded "the most dangerous TV show for children" by the Parents Television Council (PTC).
 
L'Oreal and sandwich chain Subway became the latest advertisers to pull their commercials from MTV yesterday, joining Taco Bell, General Motors, shaving products manufacturer Schick and the chewing gum makers Wrigley who say the depiction of drug taking and underage sex in the show doesn't fit with their "corporate guidelines".
 
A Taco Bell spokesman told the Hollywood Reporter: "We advertise on a variety of MTV programmes that reach our core demographic of 18 to 34-year-olds, which included the premiere episode of Skins.
 
"Upon further review, we've decided that the show is not a fit for our brand and have moved our advertising to other MTV programming."
 
So far, the MTV executives have avoided a knee-jerk reaction – presumably because the debut episode drew 3.26 million viewers, the biggest audience in the 12-34 age range for a show launch in the network's history.
 
But pressure is mounting after the PTC petitioned the US Department of Justice, the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to launch an investigation into whether Skins is breaking any child pornography laws.
 
MTV said they are "confident that the episodes of Skins will not only comply with all legal requirements, but also with our responsibilities to our viewers".
 
Bryan Elsley, the British scriptwriter who created the series with his teenage son Jamie, released a statement to MTV defending Skins as "a very serious attempt to get to the roots of young people's lives".
 
"It tries to tell the truth. Sometimes that truth can be a little painful to adults and parents," he added.

One of the cast members, Sofia Black D'Elia, who plays a promiscuous, lesbian cheerleader, has joined the debate by saying that parents who afraid to let their children watch the show must have "serious trust issues".

"I'm much more concerned with the opinions of the teenagers of America than the parents," she told Entertainment Weekly, "because that's who we were trying to reach." ·