In Defense of Provocative Gossip Girl Pictures and Ad Campaign…Or Maybe Not

Without sugarcoating it or all that jazz, let’s face the jarring reality—Gossip Girl has been a target of concerned parents and moralists for very valid reasons. If you don’t consider showcasing underage drinking, uncalled for couple switching, and red hot teenage sex reasonable enough to consider the show controversial (and well, entertaining), something is wrong with you.

To compound matters, CW has released risqué ad campaigns to promote the second season of the show. I know I have always had a big mouth, but for the first time in my years of blogging, I will stay mum, and let these Gossip Girl pictures do the talking for me.

As if pushing the angry buttons of moralists to the max, CW also released a TV ad with the same trend. Once again, allow these Gossip Girl videos to do the talking.

You may wipe that saliva off the side of your mouth now.

If you ask me, I think it is one hell of a genius advertising stint. The ad campaign is totally tugging all the strings to rig in more ratings for Gossip Girl, which they just did, pulling in more than 100% increase in ratings for the second season of the show. They broke all rules to put across a message that appeals to both fans and detractors alike, something that most advertising gimmicks are not brave enough to traverse. This tactic itself reminds me of the phrase, ‘Hitting two birds with one stone’… Only that the stone this time is made of a big pile of sex…TEENAGE SEX.

In a capitalist’s point of view, this is definitely a good money-stacking affair. But then again, there’s a different reality behind all the drama of the ad.

Gossip Girl is targeting the biggest teen market there is, and the show has been more than successful in that department. Apparently, they had to play around with morality, teenage drinking and delinquency in order to achieve the effect they’re aiming at. Not only that, GG’s influence has twisted the demarcation line between what’s proper and what’s crap. In this case, Gossip Girl has been truly inappropriate.

The show itself reeks of sex, and while all other television shows have been carefully tiptoeing in dealing with such a delicate subject, Gossip Girl has already made the homerun for the second time. Because of this, critics have flamed the show, and this risqué ad campaign just adds fuel to the fire…the BONFIRE, actually.

Gossip Girl capitalizes on the moral degeneration of today’s teens by showcasing what society has considered taboo. Needless to say, anyone with a brain and a functioning eye sight would find themselves asking for more of these racy Gossip Girl pictures only to find out that the show itself boasts of more than that. If you watch the series religiously, you know what I mean. Episodes inappropriately feature teenage sex as if it is something you can do openly without inhibitions. To put the evil cap on, the show almost makes it seem like the deed is correct and normal claiming to replicate teenage reality in the 21st century. To some extent, the claims of the show are true. Teenage sex and drinking are staple facts of teenage life, but what’s disturbing is how the show seems to make them look cool by not showing the grim and more realistic consequences of such actions.

In GG world, they can say, “Oopsie, I forgot to buy a condom, but let’s do it anyway”, and in the end, still be able to smile like nothing is gonna get to you months after. But in the real world, when you have unprotected sex, you get pregnant or worst, you get STD. At the end of the day, the appropriateness of doing premarital sex stays within the realms of television. However, let’s face the music. Not all teenage viewers are wise enough to know that what’s appropriate on TV might not be the same when it’s done in real life. Not all parents have the time to monitor what their kids are watching, either.

Personally, I could stomach all the drama and sex the show is fearlessly featuring. However, what I really can’t stomach is the fact that the network is trying to make it sound like they haven’t opened Pandora’s box and released all the evils that the censorship board (where are they anyway when all these were happening?) has been trying to suppress. In fact, Blake Lively, one of the show’s stars, even claimed to have not seen the ad and said, “I don’t think of it because I haven’t seen it”. What the heck is wrong with them?

We all know that this is just TV and that the ad campaign is just a product of bold and inappropriate advertising, but acting innocent about dangling a huge pack of meat above millions of hungry wolves is just sick. What’s even more shocking is how the act of sprawling all those Gossip Girl pictures and ads is premeditated to boost ratings. Could CW get any lower?