A supposed malfunction with pop-star Janet Jackson's "costume reveal" at the recent NFL Super Bowl halftime show has rapidly stripped the football league of its reputation as a safe venue for advertising to mass audiences. Responding to public outrage over Jackson's display of nudity before a mass audience, big advertising spenders such as Pepsi and Gillette threaten to abandon the National Football League in 2005 if the organization doesn't clean up its act.

Jackson's unexpected peekaboo provided the climax for some bizarre Super Bowl entertainment including Aerosmith in space suits, a crotch-grabbing Nelly and a streaker who was hog-tied by Houston cops moments after what the Federal Communications Commission called Jackson's "classless, crass and deplorable stunt." While the FCC has launched an investigation to determine what fines, if any, should be imposed on CBS and affiliate stations for Jackson's overexposure, the NFL said that MTV, which produced this year's Super Bowl halftime entertainment, will not likely be asked back.

Even with the NFL's multiplied apologies and pledges to change course for future Super Bowl events, it may be too little too late. Tasteless performances and adolescent commercial themes featuring flatulent horses and crotch-biting mutts may be enough to cause some advertisers sit on the sidelines during future Super Bowl games, at least until the NFL can once again prove itself a safe venue for communicating brands to mass audiences.