The Super Bowl has definitely become a PG-rated event, but did a few of this year's ads challenge the family-friendly end of the ratings scale? While Beyonce's highly touted halftime show was refreshingly middle finger and wardrobe malfunction-free, a few of the high-dollar commercials definitely required extra parental guidance.
For the 2013 Super Bowl game, some parents were put off by a few ads in particular.
* The Go Daddy ad starring Danica Patrick, supermodel Bar Refaeli and a geek named Walter (played by Jesse Heiman) was by far the most controversial 30 seconds of the night. The commercial touted the web domain company's combo of "sexy and smart," but the extended open-mouth kiss between the supermodel and the nerd was downright uncomfortable to watch. But just when you think it couldn't be any worse, it looks like home viewers were treated to the tame version of the noisy, close-up smooch. According to Business Insider, other versions of the ad were banned by CBS for too much tongue action.
* The provocative Calvin Klein "Concept" underwear ad has been deemed by some as too hot for a family show. Similar to last year's David Beckham H&M Bodywear commercial, this time it was model Matthew Terry posing in his barely-there underwear. If your kids never had an anatomy lesson before, they have now.
* Kate Upton's Mercedes Benz "Car Wash" commercial generated plenty of pre-show buzz due to its suggestion that the scantily clad Sports Illustrated model would be soaping up the luxury car in slow motion. Instead, Upton called the shots as a group of ogling football players washed her car, but the sexism in the ad was definitely old school. According to the Daily Mail Online, the Parent's Television Council denounced the ad, saying the commercial "isn't selling cars, it's selling sexual objectification."
* Audi's prom-themed commercial featured a dateless dude with the keys to his father's high end ride. So what else to do but go to the prom and aggressively grab a girl off the dance floor? In the end the once-insecure boy gets the girl and a black eye from her bully boyfriend. Nothing like using daddy's car as a confidence booster.
* And one commercial-free Super Bowl moment that needed its own rating was the exchange of on-air profanities from some of the players. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco's excitement at winning the game bypassed the censors, but it could cause trouble for CBS. The Super Bowl MVP was caught on camera saying "(Expletive) awesome!" over his team's win, while offensive lineman Marshal Yanda also shouted a clearly audible expletive during a live on-field exchange.
Victoria Leigh Miller is a freelance writer who has been writing about parenting topics since 2001.
