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Remember Viz Comic's Roger Melly (the Man from the Telly) and his oft-repeated outbursts of profane language? He was a regular in the grown-ups' comic's sometime column 'Celebrity Swears' whereby they would publish the name of some unlikely celeb alongside a random offensive phrase. In a prima facie case of life imitating art, Channel 4 launched a new brand marketing campaign in March, 2004 featuring famous faces behind the channel's programming uttering their favourite swear word. The 90 second ad consists of nothing but swearing, and includes US TV actors from The West Wing, Scrubs, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, and of course, Ozzy, effing, blinding and cunting all over the place. For the record, the word 'cunt' appears nine times in the commercial. The commercial was originally planned to run in the cinema with the release of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 2. The channel thought it would be impossible to offend an audience that had enjoyed the first instalment of the film and had returned for more. However, the Cinema Advertising Association felt differently and rejected the ad. The unedited film was instead screened on FilmFour where it was felt that audiences would see the ad in the manner intended by the makers. Seen in isolation, the ad made little sense, although it was one of a number in the branding campaign, entitled 'Twenty Questions' starring presenters from the channel together with some members of its higher profile shows and in this context perhaps, the decision didn't appear quite so bizarre. The spots took the form of a series of responses to unheard questions, which played out during ad breaks, both pre- and post watershed.
So, we were able to look forward to hearing when Jon Snow lost his virginity, and what part of her body Judy Finnigan regards as the most sensitive. I could hardly contain my enthusiasm.
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