I couldn’t pass on the SuperBowl Halftime show.

We missed somehow missed the Jackson/Justin exposure during the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday night. CBS cut away from the shot immediately and the closest thing to a comment was Greg Gumbel joking, “I think we’ve had an omen that the second half is going to be a lot of raw, naked football.”

Timberlake called it a “wardrobe malfunction”. MTV statement was, “The tearing of Janet Jackson’s costume was unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional and was inconsistent with assurances we had about the content of the performance. MTV regrets this incident occurred and we apologize to anyone who was offended by it”. CBS “deeply regretted the incident”.

PLEASE!

First, you should go see a picture of the wardrobe malfunction at the Australia’s Herald Sun.

Update: Drudge Report does better.

This was planned.

Who knows how many people were involved. You can start with Janet, Justin, and the costume designer.

They were singing Justin’s “Rock Your Body” which ends with the lyric, “Going to have you naked by the end of this song”. Hmmm.

This off the MTV website :

Jaws across the country hit the carpet at exactly the same time. You know what we’re talking about…Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and a kinky finale that rocked the Super Bowl to its core…MTV was Super Bowl central, so armchair quarterbacks, fair weather fanatics and fans of Janet Jackson and her pasties were definitely in the right place.

MTV doesn’t seem to have a lot of regret or be backing away from the incident.

This is all about business. It’s about selling records. It’s about endorsements. It’s about the creation and destruction of images.

First, MTV forgot this wasn’t cable. This was no different than Lil’ Kim with the pasty/dress from the Video Awards a few years ago. The same stuff doesn’t fly when you are producing for someone else on broadcast television.

MTV won’t produce a Super Bowl event again. I thought moving into live events was a good extension of their brand.

Justin was a funny twenty-something singer, who now undresses women on national stages. That makes him a target for every family group in the country. Let’s see if he keep the NBA gig. Let’s see if McDonald’s is Lovin’ It.

For Janet, I can only think it was a last hurrah. Is she still selling records?

Unfortunately, this may be just another event that people shrug off and again pushes the line further as to was is acceptable to air on television.