COLUMBUS - Television viewers will not be able to watch Victoria's Secret supermodels strutting down a New York City runway in skimpy underwear this fall: The chain has dropped its show for this year.
The announcement on Saturday comes less than three months after Janet Jackson's breast-baring move at the Super Bowl and after federal regulators proposed fining Clear Channel Communications $495,000 last week for sexually explicit material on the Howard Stern show.
Ed Razek, chief creative officer for the Columbus-based chain with
$4 billion in annual sales, said the decision was more about looking at new ways to promote the brand, owned by Limited Brands.
The reasoning is 25 percent based on the controversy generated by the Jackson gaffe, he said.
We had to make the decision probably six to eight weeks ago when the heat was on the television networks
he said.
The hour-long show also has included orchestras, skits and singers, including Sting and Mary J. Blige last year.
National Organization for Women vice president Olga Vives praised the cancelation, saying the show makes women look only like sexual objects. 17
Archives
The Associated Press
