Adultery ad a no-go for Super Bowl

A company whose website seeks to match attached men and women for casual encounters won't be able to reach out to curious spouses during the Super Bowl.

AshleyMadison.com had its commercial rejected by CTV, which is the Canadian broadcaster for the game Sunday between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.

"The Super Bowl attracts a broad audience composed of families, men and women, young and old. An advertisement for a website promoting adultery does not meet the standards for the quality brands associated with this premiere television property and major social event," Scott Henderson, CTV's vice-president of communications, said in the statement.

Noel Biderman, president of Ashley Madison, said in a statement on Thursday the company consulted with the Telecaster Committee of Canada during production to ensure the ad didn't violate any guidelines, and the ad has already run in the United States.

Biderman accused CTV of a double standard.

"I find the rejection to be ridiculous given that a huge percentage of the NFL's marketing content is for products like alcohol.… That's a product that literally kills tens of thousands of people each year," Biderman said. "[If] CTV is worried about legislating behaviour and regulating what their audience should be exposed to, then it should start with a ban on all alcohol advertising."

Ashley Madison, based out of Toronto, has been operating since 2001.