ABSTRACT
When Justin Timberlake ripped Janet Jackson's bodice, exposing her breast during theMTV-produced Super Bowl half-time show in 2004, parents, educators, and network executives entered into a heated debate about appropriate content for national network television. Comments typically ranged from outrage to a simple shrug; the concern generally centered on younger viewers who were unwittingly exposed to the daring stunt. The incident also focused attention on the program's advertising as being crass, oversexualized, and inappropriate for young audiences (Smith & Simon, 2004). Fallout from this media “event” highlights how little we know about the content of television that children consume—and that we know even less about the content of embedded commercials in those programs. This chapter attempts to close that gap by focusing on one specific age group—early adolescents—and the sexual content of the commercials that run during their most-watched shows.
