Monday, September 27, 2010

Milking the golden cow that is porn

When it comes to the pornography industry, it's notoriously hard to get straight answers - a fact that's especially true when it comes down to money. Estimates as to how much the industry takes in vary greatly and in most cases, it depends on who you talk to you. Anti-porn groups often like to under-value the industry in an effort to make it seem smaller than it is, while the producers themselves exaggerate for exactly the opposite reasons.

The other thing that makes it really hard to get good numbers is the fact that there is no dividing line between adult companies and their mainstream counterparts. Mainstream businesses, from cable and internet providers to hotel chains and electronics makers all have their fingers in the pie, so to speak.

Case in point: the news last week that ad agency M&C Saatchi has won the global account for ICM Registry, the U.S. internet registrar that is going to run the .XXX domain name. For the uninitiated, internet registrars are the companies that websites buy their addresses from. They, in turn, are governed by the non-profit ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICM has been trying to get the .XXX domain established for ages, and ICANN is on the verge of doing so.

Porn companies, however, have been up in arms over the move, saying that the creation of a specialized website won't prevent what it is intended to do, which is to make it harder for minors to access adult content. The companies are also hopping mad that they're going to have to answer to a new cop - and one that is not affiliated with them at all. According to the industry's lobby group, the Free Speech Coaltion, ".XXX would end up costing webmasters millions in unnecessary fees, if passed, and also make it easier for the wrong people to target adult material online."

Given that ICANN and ICM have drafted a contract, it sure looks like the domain is going to go through despite the porn industry's protests, which probably means the company is going to get rich, and Saatchi is going to benefit as well. According to The Guardian, the agency will "focus on developing a campaign, set to launch on both sides of the Atlantic from January, to increase responsibility with the adult entertainment industry. A consumer campaign will roll out later next year."

Flowery statements of intent aside, you can add M&C Saatchi to the list of big mainstream companies that will be profiting from porn (if it isn't doing so already).
Posted by Peter Nowak at 9:50 AM
Labels: internet, sex

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