*Beeeeeep*

March 12, 2004 3:00 AM

The UK's Channel 4 is to court controversy with a provocative advert littered with swear words in which the word "c**t" is heard nine times in the space of just 90 seconds. Watch it here (NSFW with speakers on!)
posted by MintSauce (41 comments total)

Um..what is advertising? Stupid fucks.
posted by Orange Goblin at 3:10 AM on March 12, 2004

I found that quite funny in a puerile kind of way, especially John Snow saying "shite".

The article was interesting as well:

"But the Cinema Advertising Association has baulked at the idea, and is refusing to take the advert unless it is edited to make it less offensive."

That would have to be some pretty serious editing job!
posted by derbs at 3:12 AM on March 12, 2004

Oooh. Like having sex with a retarded dwarf, that's neither big nor clever.
posted by Pericles at 3:15 AM on March 12, 2004

Heheh. Yeah that was funny. And I've always wanted to see that Kirstie Allsopp swearing like a filthy animal, so.... thanks!

Direct Linky-Wink.
posted by ed\26h at 3:17 AM on March 12, 2004

How I miss the days when Channel 4 was worth watching, but sadly these days it's in thrall to a handfull of production companies and any programme with the word "property" in the title.

Still, at least we can look forward to a golden age in the channels output now that Luke Johnson has been appointed as new chief. It could have been worse, the could have appointed his barking mad father.

Oh well, the ad is airing on film four, so only about six people will see it anyway (everything goes misty as we remember the old days when Channel four used to show interesting new cinema and gems of world cinema on it's terrestrial arm).
posted by ciderwoman at 3:29 AM on March 12, 2004

How easily we offend, swearing eh, no biggie if you ask me.
posted by johnnyboy at 3:47 AM on March 12, 2004

For me, "c*nt" still remains the most offensive word in any language I know. "Shite" on the other hand has some coolness surrounding it.
posted by swordfishtrombones at 3:51 AM on March 12, 2004

A few weeks too late for the Superbowl :-(
posted by bifter at 3:52 AM on March 12, 2004

That rocks. Yay for C4
posted by ajbattrick at 4:32 AM on March 12, 2004

The outburst sparked only a handful of complaints, suggesting the word is no longer the major taboo it once was.

Now if only Americans would lighten up this much.

Body parts on TV?? IT'S THE APOCALYPSE!
Words?? BURN THEM AT THE STAKE!
Violence?? RIGHT-ON!!
posted by terrapin at 4:42 AM on March 12, 2004

Some words are magical and must not be used.
posted by spazzm at 4:44 AM on March 12, 2004

Man, that motherEnglanding piece of England made me laugh my Englandy England off.
posted by ColdChef at 4:48 AM on March 12, 2004

What the fuck are they advertising though?
posted by SpaceCadet at 4:49 AM on March 12, 2004

this was AWESOME. sure, i didn't know who half those people were (but the scottish bloke who said "my favorite swear word is fuck" had an fantastic accent!), but i thought it was amazing.

all these tv actors cursing...man, my dirty talk fetish is sated for weeks.
posted by taumeson at 4:49 AM on March 12, 2004

What the fuck are they advertising though?

Looks like a self promo for the channel. All the people feature in programmes on C4.
posted by biffa at 4:54 AM on March 12, 2004

taumeson, Avid Merrion is not scottish
posted by ajbattrick at 4:54 AM on March 12, 2004

That's funny! First same-sex marriage, now public utterance of taboo words. A veritable sanity outbreak!

It can't last.
posted by davidchess at 5:08 AM on March 12, 2004

Ha ha, that was funny, it made me want to do a sex wee.
posted by rikabel at 5:16 AM on March 12, 2004

I got a vicarious thrill from Mark Nicholas saying "shitfuck" personally. Could only have been better if it was Phillipa Forrester.
posted by bifter at 5:46 AM on March 12, 2004

Looks like a self promo for the channel. All the people feature in programmes on C4.
It is, they have been running these for a month or so now in between programmes. They all consist of the people in this ad being answering questions like "What is your favourite food" or "When did you lose your virginity".
posted by chill at 6:02 AM on March 12, 2004

Interesting how so many of the actors I did recognize are all on American television shows, and nearly all (as far as I can tell as I don't watch much network tee vee) were from NBC television shows.
posted by terrapin at 7:51 AM on March 12, 2004

What's the name of the guy who says "see you next tuesday?'?
I've seen his standup, and it was hilarious... can't remember his name though.
posted by krunk at 7:51 AM on March 12, 2004

krunk: His name is Jimmy Carr.
posted by rikabel at 7:56 AM on March 12, 2004

terrapin: You're thinking of Scrubs and some ER, I think.
posted by graventy at 8:10 AM on March 12, 2004

A lot of the actors were from HBO shows-- Sopranos and Six Feet Under. Are those shown on Channel 4?
posted by gwint at 8:13 AM on March 12, 2004

Where are the snuff trailers and the ones with the crack smoking cripples and spunking cocks?

Channel 4 has gotten so commercial.
posted by Blue Stone at 8:30 AM on March 12, 2004

Motherfucking charmone. Leigh married!

I don't know if it would make me want to watch C4, but it sure beats the BBC's Perfect Day advert on those grounds.
posted by asok at 8:34 AM on March 12, 2004

Love the commercial, f*cking hate the Osbournes.
posted by xmutex at 8:40 AM on March 12, 2004

Wasnt the guy that played Cole on Charmed in there?
posted by MrLint at 8:55 AM on March 12, 2004

graventy: and a few from West Wing (again, NBC, right?)
posted by terrapin at 9:02 AM on March 12, 2004

Wasnt the guy that played Cole on Charmed in there?

I presume C4 are going to be/are showing Nip/Tuck in which he also features.

a few from West Wing

I have to admit to being unimpressed by the swearing ability of the bloke who plays Josh in the west wing.

And its not just NBC, most of the US shows have already been shown on Sky in the UK.
posted by biffa at 9:14 AM on March 12, 2004

Fiddlesticks
posted by Scoo at 10:01 AM on March 12, 2004

i love the word wanker (and you can even say it in the US!)

lots of US representation from Sopranos, O.C., and West Wing. good stuff. (Rachel Bilson looks so cute saying "shitface!")

swearing is fun.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:13 AM on March 12, 2004

it seems like cunt is so offensive (much more so than cock, dick, etc.), b/c bitch has lost its cache. if i were female, i think i'd be more offended by bitch than cunt.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:16 AM on March 12, 2004

actual working link

Btw, that updater.co.uk link is just a frameset to this page on channel4.com.
posted by delmoi at 10:49 AM on March 12, 2004

Janel Moloney likes cunt. I got a giggle out of that.

I think it's so offensive (in America, at least) because it refers to a specific type of woman. It gets to a level of misogyny that few other terms can achieve. Personally, I wish we'd use it a bit more like the Brits and Aussies, as a general purpose vulgarity... just because it's such a great curse word.
posted by psmealey at 10:53 AM on March 12, 2004

What a bunch of c*nts. It's hard to imagine that someone going to see a movie like Kill Bill #1 would be terribly offended by anything short of necrophilia or bestiality (or necrophiliac bestiality).
posted by clevershark at 10:56 AM on March 12, 2004

spunking cocks

Now there's a name for a band...

if i were female, i think i'd be more offended by bitch than cunt.

Well, I'm not female, but it bothers me more.
posted by rushmc at 12:17 PM on March 12, 2004

Most of us are familiar with the childhood phrase, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!"

I remember using this phrase many times to fend off verbal attacks and if you say it and you believe it, it works quite well.

My father also taught us that we would not get in trouble for using swear words around him. We never really felt the urge because it wasn't particularly taboo.

I swear rather more frequently than I would like, but I realize when in mixed company that swearing doesn't make me look particularly articulate, although sometimes it can legitimately help one get one's point across.

When all is said and done, I just can't see what all the fuss is about a few words that other people seem to think their ears should never have to hear.

My little 9 year old brother called me a 'fucking bitch' the other day and I just completely ignored it. I wasn't going to encourage him by responding, either positively or negatively. It was the first time I had ever heard him use such language, as I know his mother would certainly punish him severely.

After he had calmed down, I told him that I didn't care at all if he used swear words, but he'd better take care about using them because other people might well beat the crap out of him.

He has no incentive to swear at me now because he knows it will have no affect on me. People just can't seem to realize that words and ideas only have the power that they give to them. If people refuse to give words and ideas power over them, then those words and ideas are meaningless.
posted by PigAlien at 1:02 PM on March 12, 2004

I have to say that I love it, in the juvenile way that I still love Derek and Clive. Just because you have so many 'wholesome' presenters swearing like old sailors. (Judy Finnegan says fuck! Jon Snow says shite!) Reminds me, too, of the 'Dead Ringers' episode they showed after Johnny Rotten's 'cunt' incident, in which Ozzy Osbourne was used as a sniffer dog for televisual obscenities.

I'm always amused by how 'wanker' gets past the censors on Friends etc. Because it's still after-the-watershed in Britain, although that also encompasses every other swear-word in the book.

A lot of the actors were from HBO shows-- Sopranos and Six Feet Under. Are those shown on Channel 4?

Oh yes. No subscription required. Though C4 does put ads in them, which I believe HBO doesn't -- correct me if I'm wrong here.
posted by riviera at 6:45 PM on March 12, 2004

American translation:

*beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep*It starts with C and ends with T *beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep* em...*beep**beep**beep* my favourite swearword is *beep* *beep* I like *beep* *beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep**beep* *beep* Son of a *beep* *beep* *beep* See You next tuesday *beep**beep**beep* She's lying *beep* *beep* ...
posted by asd at 2:59 AM on March 14, 2004