Heavy.com Bows Banned Bowl Ads

by Gavin O'Malley, Wednesday, Feb 1, 2006 6:00 AM EST

BETTING ON THE DIVIDE BETWEEN consumer tastes and those of network sensors, Heavy.com has compiled 16 commercials banned from the Super Bowl this year. The axed ads, which went live Tuesday night, include one produced by the activist group PETA, a "director's cut" of the GoDaddy.com ad, and a spot touting the over-the-counter cold medicine Airborne, which apparently features Mickey Rooney's bare backside.

"I think the ads that get rejected are always the more interesting ones," said David Carson, Heavy.com's co-founder and co-CEO.

Heavy.com consists of a mosaic of video clips, radio, and games that attract the young males (and increasingly females) so coveted by advertisers today. The site is consistently laden with brands like Diesel, Sony, and Nike, as well as trailers for films such as New Line's 'Wedding Crashers."

Carson made no arrangements with any of the brands whose Super Bowl ads his site is featuring. "We just found them online," he said. "We thought it would be smart to compile them all together into one package."

Users clicking on the banned TV ads are first shown, very briefly, a separate full-screen banner ad; Tuesday night, one ad was for the movie "Underworld," and another was for Honda Civic.