Burger King ‘Simpsons’ Ads Don’t Cut the Mustard With NBC, ABC

“The Simpsons,” the irascible cartoon that has helped put Fox on the television map, has become so popular that advertisers such as Butterfinger candy bars and Burger King are snapping up the characters as their corporate spokesfamily. But the move is proving as hazardous as one of Bart’s cherry bombs.

NBC and ABC have refused to accept the Butterfinger ads and both said this week that they also will reject Burger King’s upcoming “Simpsons” commercials, part of the fast food chain’s reported $20-million campaign scheduled to begin next month.

Both networks said that it is their policy to turn down commercials that cross-promote a program on a competing network.

CBS maintains a similar policy of prohibiting ads that feature actors in character or on the set of a competitive show, but the network nonetheless has cleared both the Butterfinger and the proposed Burger King ads.

In a prepared statement, the third-place network--which is scrambling to lure the young viewers whom “The Simpsons” appeals to most--said: “CBS recognizes that animated characters only exist in their on-screen persona. In an effort to support our advertisers’ creative needs, CBS will generally approve the appearance of competitive animated characters, provided they do not name the program, or mention its time and date.”

Fox, of course, will also sell air time for the ads featuring its own first family, but network executives could not be reached to answer questions about whether the network has its own policy against ads starring characters from competing programs.

The banning of “The Simpsons” ads is not unprecedented. Earlier this year, ABC and CBS rejected a Maxwell House coffee ad that featured NBC’s “Today” show weatherman Willard Scott clowning it up with average folk. NBC has previously turned down spots that featured John Forsythe and Linda Evans pushing products connected with the “Dynasty” series on ABC, and another for BVD underwear with Larry Hagman dressed up as J.R. Ewing of CBS’ “Dallas.”

NBC also recently refused to air a Sprite soft drink commercial that showed Arsenio Hall, rival of its own Johnny Carson and David Letterman, on the set of his late-night talk show. The network accepted a variation of the Sprite ad, however, that still starred Hall but did not include his TV set.

All the networks have been airing a Miller Lite beer campaign that features Woody Harrelson, who plays bartender Woody Boyd on NBC’s “Cheers,” in a cross-country bike race against several music and sports stars.

David Horowitz, ABC’s director of program information, said that “Woody Harrelson is his real name and, in our perception, he is not using his character’s persona”--even though the commercials hinge on his very-Woody (the character)-like dumbness and ebullient optimism in the face of catastrophe.

Bill Cosby is also acceptable as a corporate pitchman, the networks said, as long as he appears as himself and not as his TV character, Dr. Cliff Huxtable.

As for Burger King, a company spokeswoman declined comment on the problems with “The Simpsons” campaign, saying only, “stay tuned.” When asked if that meant the fast food giant was considering altering the campaign because of problems with NBC and ABC, she said she could not say.

Even though the two top-rated networks have turned a cold shoulder to the company’s advertising dollars, Burger King does have alternatives beyond CBS and Fox. It can buy commercial time on cable networks--which generally are happy for whatever advertising they can get--and on syndicated and local TV programs.

Despite rejecting the Burger King ads, ABC said that it is reviewing its policy about commercials with characters from other networks. ABC apparently is deciding whether preventing any inadvertent cross-promotion of competing programs is worth the loss of advertising dollars at a time when the major networks are losing audiences and potential revenue with every passing year.

Neither ABC nor NBC would comment on how much ad revenue it stands to lose by turning down the Burger King ads. But Paul Schulman, whose Paul Schulman Co. buys advertising time for corporate clients, said that while the networks don’t like to reject ads and cause problems with an advertiser as large as Burger King, it is unlikely that they will lose much by keeping these commercials off their air.

“Burger King probably still wants to be on certain shows on NBC and, if they want to advertise during ‘The Cosby Show’ or ‘Cheers,’ they will have to do it with a different commercial,” Schulman said. “They could still buy time (on ABC and NBC) with some other version and then air ‘The Simpsons’ commercial elsewhere.”