Controversial show Gossip Girl has set tongues wagging once more with a new sexually charged advertising campaign to promote its new season.
The racy new ads openly court the show's critics in a series of provocative scenes from the new season of Gossip Girl overlaid with varying remarks from reviewers.
According to the ad campaign, opinions range from The New York Post's review 'A Nasty Piece of Work', to The San Diego Union-Tribune's 'Very Bad For You', to 'Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate' from the Parents Television Council.
But Executive Vice President of Marketing for The CW Network Rick Haskins says that the ads are doing exactly what ads are meant to do - grab your attention.
"I am very happy that we have created a provocative campaign," Haskins said.
"I think that is what advertisings job is. To elicit a response that's going to make people go and watch the show and I think that we are accomplishing that," he added.
The young age of the show's teen and tween fan base has worried some media commentators who have criticised the show's sexual content.
But Haskins claims the campaign aims to target a mature audience of women from the ages of 18 to 34, what they call the 'soap opera' market.
"The genesis of the marketing campaign for the Gossip Girl is really based on what we call OMG moments," he explained.
And he's bracing himself for a future backlash too, Haskins says: "like anything that is provocative you are going to have your fans and you are going to have your critics."
Gossip Girls returns for a second season on in the US on 1 September 2008.
APTN