PTC Warns Potential MTV VMA Advertisers of Marketing Blatant Sexualization, Illegal Drug Use to Young Viewers

Ahead of Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, the Parents Television Council has reached out to previous and potential advertisers of the annual show that markets blatant sexualization and illegal drug use to impressionable young viewers. “On last year’s show, the VMA broadcast was lathered in profanity, celebration of illegal drug use, nudity and flagrant sexualization (much of it self-inflicted). MTV knowingly rated the program as acceptable for children as young as 14. While we hope MTV has learned a lesson from last year and will be taking steps to be more responsible, the reality is that their track record is not good. That’s why we are imploring the corporate sponsors to use their unique influence – their media dollars – as a lever for improvement. We urge potential sponsors of the VMAs to consider MTV’s prior conduct and to weigh whether they want their brands to be aligned with such content,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “Sponsors have a wide variety of options when it comes to their media spending. They may covet the viewer demographic value of the VMA show, but we urge them to heed the scientific evidence showing a reduced ROI when sponsoring explicit content. We also call on MTV to rate the program accurately. They know full-well what the content will be, and they cannot claim subsequently to be caught off-guard by anything explicit.”