In a previous column on the appearance of a Viagra ad during the NASCAR Cup races, I noted the return of these offensive ads (at least to some of us) and put out the suggestion to the NASCAR fans that we complain before more were welcomed in.

As I stated before, I am no prude. I do believe there is a time and place for everything, though. May I say that it is not an appropriate time to be discussing the topics included in a Viagra commercial during a Cup race on a Sunday afternoon? Imagine the living room full of family, including grandma and grandpa, enjoying the heck out of another exciting NASCAR race… and on comes the booming music that accompanies an ad that should only be on in the late evening hours? I am the same age as Mark Martin, but I still don’t want to have to focus on an ad like that with my parents in the room. I can’t imagine being younger and facing the same thing. How uncomfortable and awkward! I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad, but pharmaceutical companies need to be so specific about what the product is for, and what the side-effects might be. I would really prefer to be spared those details, and I am certain I am not the only NASCAR fan who feels that way.

In my previous column, I noted that if we didn’t speak up and say something, there would be more. Time has borne this out, and now instead of one ad during the race, we are up to three. Additionally, Viagra now sponsors something they call the ‘Viagra Moments That Changed the Game’. May I say that with each added moment of E.D. commercials, we are changing the family-oriented landscape of our race broadcasts? What will be next? Will we also have the innocuous ads of happy couples in matching bathtubs; or worse, the ads for faux doctors selling faux products promising to make physical changes that real doctors say are impossible? Anyone who winces at the spam emails that claim the same should take a moment to consider how it would be if the same were happening on the television screen during a NASCAR race. Who in their right mind would want that?

Yes, advertising during race broadcasts are necessary. They send their messages about their products to us; and, in turn, our silence about offensive ads sends the message back that it is okay with us.

If such ads don’t bother you, then their sure-to-increase numbers if no one says anything probably won’t either. But if you care about these varmints coming into our town, you’d better speak up to your ‘local sheriff’ (a.k.a. the broadcast networks), and the sooner the better.