An infidelity dating service on the Internet, for people "looking for a little something on the side," has launched an ad campaign to attract Utah clients, but one Salt Lake City radio station yanked the company's ads only hours after they first aired.
The company, The Ashley Madison Agency, boasts 3.4 million members in the United States and Canada -- many of them married or in a relationship, but looking to hook up with someone else.
Noel Biderman, president and CEO of Ashley Madison, said the company has seen a spike in interest from Utah, with 3,280 new members in the first three months of 2009. As of March 31, the company reports Utah membership at 21,268, and more than half have joined in the past 12 months.
"We started seeing our Utah member base growing," Biderman said Thursday from his Toronto office. "It appears that Utah citizens use the [Internet] for adult content in a disproportionate number [compared] to other communities. ... We said to ourselves, 'Hey, let's try to market there.' "
Biderman started by buying ads April 6 on two Salt Lake City radio stations: KXRK-FM (known as X96) and KZZQ-FM (known as The Blaze 97.5). The ads feature Biderman in a fake interview, arguing that his company "didn't invent cheating," but that the Web site offers a preferable alternative to messy office romances or illegal escort services.
Craig Hanson, president of Simmons Media Group, X96's owners, first heard the ad as he listened to X96's popular "Radio From Hell" morning show April 6 as he drove to work. Hanson asked himself, "How did that get on the air?"
The ad ran two or three times that morning, Hanson said, but as soon as he got into the office, he ordered the ad pulled.
"It was incompatible with what we view to be the standards and the values of the community," Hanson said Thursday, stating the ad never would have run if he had heard it beforehand.
"I can't claim 'wardrobe malfunction,' but I can claim that we made an error," Hanson said, claiming the ad made it on the air in spite of the company's advertising vetting process.
A publicist for Ashley Madison said the ads are still airing on The Blaze 97.5. Officials from The Blaze did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.
Biderman said his company has advertised on national cable and satellite TV carriers -- usually at night, after children are in bed. He has had success advertising on reality shows, such as "Cheaters," and on the Fox News Channel.
Biderman said he aims to buy TV spots and billboard space in Utah, and labeled media outlets that refuse his ads as "hypocrites."
"They'll take for the city of Las Vegas, which advertises 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,'" Biderman said. "They'll take all kinds of advertising for male erectile dysfunction. If you're taking those, why can't you take our ads? I feel I should have the right, as long as I'm following the regulations, to advertise my product."
