‘Silence’ Avoids Problems With Ads, NBC Says, Selling Out at Normal Rates

Although some other network productions dealing with gays have run into problems with advertisers in recent years, NBC says “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story” sold out at normal rates.

The network acknowledged that some sponsors did pull out of the movie after controversy developed about a kiss between the two lead actresses, but others took their places.

That the controversy didn’t snowball and scare more advertisers away was attributed to the big names involved in the production (Glenn Close, Barbra Streisand) and to the fact that NBC made the movie available to sponsors and TV critics well in advance of tonight’s broadcast so they could judge it for themselves.