Television

NEW YORK – Gossip Girl will get people talking. At least that seems likely as the CW network brings to a boil its new campaign for the sexy prep-school soap.

The show's second season begins Sept. 1, after an August promotion to put viewers, um, in the mood. And here's a twist: The racy ads co-opt language from the very criticism of the show for being too, well, racy.

Alert surfers got a preview last week, when images of coupled-up Gossip Girl characters found their way onto several Web sites.

Here's Serena van der Woodsen (series blonde Blake Lively) with eyes shut dreamily, mouth open, while a friend, his face buried in her tresses, nuzzles her neck. Strongly suggesting the pair are just getting started, the headline, which quotes The Boston Herald, declares: "Every Parent's Nightmare."

Other such lovey-dovey moments are accompanied by headlines such as "A Nasty Piece of Work" and "Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate."

That latter phrase was borrowed from the Parents Television Council, which has blasted the series' salacious content since its premiere.

"I think it reeks of desperation," said Melissa Henson, PTC director of communications.

But CW marketing boss Rick Haskins said the advertising just aims to get noticed.

"What we're trying to do is communicate with the audience in a way that they like and can appreciate," he said.

The series is based on the popular Gossip Girl young-adult novels and is presented through the eyes of its mysterious title character, whose tattling posts are savored by the show's PDA-packing teens.

The Associated Press

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