Sportsheets cut seven clips from its demonstration DVD to be posted on video sharing sites to raise consumer awareness in its products, and so consumers could post the videos on their websites or blogs.
While the clips feature porn star Alektra Blue and model Sarge Logan in lingerie, there is no graphic sexual content. Sportsheets Director of Sales and Marketing Todd Carter said the company caters to a “couples-friendly vibe,” and the videos display the girls demonstrating and explaining selections from the Sportsheets product line.
“Our products are made to be used by couples, and the decision to buy our products will be made by couples,” Carter said. “Women tend to be the decision makers when couples shop together, and we were careful to keep them in mind while making this DVD. For a variety of reasons, overt sexuality or even just nudity can make some women apprehensive about purchasing an adult novelty and so we tend to avoid that, even on our packaging.”
Carter told XBIZ that a clip promoting the Super Sex Sling was uploaded to Google Video on Aug. 18. Google Video sent an email, obtained by XBIZ, to Sportsheets on Aug. 21 that said the clip was removed, citing its policy that, “The video must not contain pornographic, nude, or obscene material.”
In the video, a clothed male and female model demonstrate the product’s different uses while a narrator speaks.
Sportsheets appealed the removal of the clip, responding to Google Video support that the video did not contain nudity, obscene material or graphic sexual content. Google then invited Sportsheets to resubmit the clip on Aug. 24, which it did along with six others. On Aug. 31, all seven clips were rejected.
“Before the clip on our Super Sex Sling was removed — only three hours after it was posted — it got more than 1,700 hits on Google Video,” Carter told XBIZ. “We couldn’t understand [the removal] because our videos are educational and informative — not graphic or crude in any way. Also, there were no links to porn or to our website. We believe they were totally appropriate and fully complied with Google’s policy.”
Sportsheets went through a similar exhange with YouTube, only the video sharing site allowed two of the company’s seven submitted clips to remain.
“There’s no substantial difference between the clips other than the novelties which are being showcased, and no reason to construe any of the clips as obscene or pornographic,” Carter said.
Google and YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
