By Nolan Strong
Proctor & Gamble continues to test the urban market, with a new hotline to obtain input from the customers of the company’s various brands regarding P&G’s sponsorship of music video programs on BET and MTV.
The company, which recently launched Tagged Records, a full-fledged Hip-Hop label run by rap boss Jermaine Dupri, was asked to remove commercials that air during Rap City, 106 & Park and MTV’s Sucka Free.
The request comes after a recently released study on April 10 by the Parents Television Council and the Enough Is Enough Campaign in Entertainment.
The comprehensive study titled "The Rap on Rap" details the amount of foul language and sexual acts that are featured per-hour during each show.
Using this information, Enough Is Enough seeks to have advertisers banned from the popular Hip-Hop video shows.
In December of 2007, PTC recorded every new episode from each program over a two-week period, for a total of 27.5 hours content.
PTC found 1,674 instances of offensive of adult content featured on the three programs during the 27.5 hours analyzed.
Rap City featured the highest level of sexual activity (31.6 instances per hour), explicit language (25.3 instances per hour) and violence (11.7 instances per hour).
MTV’s Sucka Free contained the highest level of drug sales/use (10.5 per instances per hour).
The company found that explicit language was muted in 91% of the instances, but nine were not including the words "damn," "bitch," "pissed" and euphemism for the word "f**k."
The most commonly used explicative during the study was the word "N***a." Proctor & Gamble was targeted because the company had more advertisements placed on the network than any other company.
The Enough is Enough Campaign, which is being organized by Reverend Delman Coates, protests advertisers who market their products during shows that promote violence, criminal behavior, drug use and drug dealing.
P&G, which owns such brands as Gillette, Duracell, Tide and Pampers, has set up the number (800-331-3774) to provide input on whether or not consumers are concerned with their products being placed against the offensive.
Enough Is Enough is also targeting five other major advertisers, including YUM Brands, Wal-Mart, General Motors, McDonalds, and AT&T, claiming they sponsor video shows that contain themes inappropriate for children and youth.
