Microsoft Spends $1 Million for 'South Park' Ads

Microsoft may find the Family Guy too off-color or off-center for sponsorship, but the company seems to have something of a double standard --- it's spent more than $1 million on ads for South Park, and it pays for ads on shows that feature drug dealing, violence, plenty of sex, and bathroom humor.

Microsoft initially said that it was going to sponsor a special titled "Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show," on November 8, and was going to embed Windows 7 pitches directly into the show, rather than using traditional ads.

Then Microsoft saw the show, which according to Variety,

"made typical 'Family Guy' style jokes, including riffs on deaf people, the Holocaust, feminine hygiene and incest."

Microsoft pulled its sponsorship, saying in a statement, "the content was not a fit with the Windows brand."

According to some digging by the Los Angeles Times, though, Microsoft advertises on plenty of other TV shows that are in bad taste, and that feature sex, drug dealing, and more. The Times reports that Microsoft spent more than $4 million on "Two and a Half Men" last season. The paper goes on to say:

"Although it's no 'Family Guy,' the sitcom can get pretty racy. In one recent episode titled 'Laxative Tester, Horse Inseminator,' there were jokes about condoms, teenage boys being aroused and the benefits to using a bidet."

The newspaper then goes on to report:

"Other shows Microsoft helped bankroll include AMC's "Breaking Bad," a violent drama about a teacher who becomes a crystal meth dealer after he learns he has cancer; FX's "Nip/Tuck," which usually has enough sex to make Hugh Hefner blush; and "Rescue Me," which also loves its bathroom humor. Oh, and Microsoft likes Comedy Central's "South Park," where it dropped more than $1 million on commercials."

Oddly enough, Microsoft also spent plenty of money on Family Guy last season --- $3.2 million on Fox, and then $1.4 million on re-runs on TBS and Cartoon Network. So which content fits with the Windows brand, and which doesn't? I certainly can't tell...and I'm not sure Microsoft can, either.