From: "David Olson" Subject: Lesbian Kissing Scenes cause Procter & Gamble to stop advertising on COLOMBIAN Soap, Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 13:29:07 -0500 EL TIEMPO, Bogotß, Colombia, THURSDAY May 15, 1997 Because of the Lesbian scenes, advertising stopped on"The perfume of Agony" "There are kisses that are worth a lot. Nobody doubts that. In fact the one that Helen and Elvira, played by Alejandra Borrero and Marcel Gallego, actresses in Producciones JES production of the soap opera: "The Perfume of Agony", gave each other, meant that they would lose 50 million pesos a month in advertising revenue. The reason for this is, that the company Inextra de Colombia, has decided to take their advertising off the program, according to executives at the Producers, because of the scenes of lesbianism, that have begun to be seen, added to the controversial treatment given the subject of kidnapping. This all started last Wednesday, when the Advertising Manager of Inextra, Arnoldo Rodrİguez, sent a letter to their Advertising agencies: Grey Colombia, Leo Burnett, and Toro Publicidad. According to Antonio JosÚ G¾mez, the Business Manager of Producciones JES, Rodrİguez said in his letter that, due to the controversy that the Soap: "The Perfume of Agony" had generated, he requested his agencies to cancel the ads. "I called Arnoldo Rodrİguez, The only explanation he gave me was that he had received the cancellation order, and because of it, he was carrying it out. EL TIEMPO called Rodrİguez, to ask for his version, but he stated that " we can't supply that kind of information. What's curious about all of this is that Inextra belongs to the multinational Company: Procter and Gamble, the same one that took their advertising off of the American Comedy "Ellen", on April 30, on account of a scene of lesbianism very similar to that of "The Perfume of Agony".. .....................mention of Ellen, her girlfriend, and her program................ What is true, is that the ratings of "The Perfume of Agony" have taken off, too. Ratings went up from 22 percent to 24.4 from one day to the next. Whether other advertisers want to remove their advertising is not sure, but up to now nobody has confirmed it. "We still don't know what the reaction of our other customers will be" pointed out Antonio JosÚ G¾mez (The program is on from 10:00 pm to 10:30 pm, weekdays) ------------------------------ Last Sunday, ELTIEMPO carried full page interviews and photos of the two actresses and reader's comments on the show and the subject.