More trouble for ‘Skins’? Taco Bell, GM pull advertising

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More problems for MTV’s ‘Skins’: Auto giant General Motors has joined Taco Bell in pulling ads from the racy new teen drama.

The news was announced on Friday by the Parents Television Council, which recently put out a ‘take action alert’ asking members to contact both companies and ask them to stop sponsoring the program, which it called ‘the most dangerous television show for children that we have ever seen.’

MTV responded in a statement: ‘We have an ongoing dialogue with our advertising partners about the best fit for them across our diverse lineup of shows. We know that not every show works for every advertiser. That said, we are confident that ‘Skins’ will continue to connect with the audience it was created for and that advertisers will take advantage of the opportunity to reach them.’

Asked about the PTC’s war on ‘Skins’ earlier this week, the show’s creator Bryan Elsley told us, ‘’Skins’ is definitely not the most dangerous program ever on television. People should just watch the show and see if they feel it’s really as bad as they think. In the U.K., ‘Skins’ is part of drug training programs, it’s used in films about gay teenagers coming out, and it’s used in a public health context. It might be worthwhile reminding people that the first episode of ‘Skins’ is about a boy who sets out to lose his virginity and realizes later in the episode that he’s not ready.’

But the PTC wasn’t having it. “Every single advertiser who sponsored the premiere episode of ‘Skins’ is not only endorsing, but glorifying teen drug and alcohol abuse, not to mention a plethora of baseless sexual content,’ said PTC President Tim Winter in a statement. He promised that the PTC would be targeting fellow ‘Skins’ sponsors Schick Hydro, H&R Block, L’Oreal, Subway, Foot Locker, Orbit chewing gum and Extra chewing gum very soon.

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-- Melissa Maerz