Frosty the Snowman has always been a jolly happy soul. But for the purposes of a seasonal advertising campaign, he's suddenly built up a vast collection of pornography and begun spending evenings at underground strip clubs where he drinks heavily, admires women's breasts and, every so often, gets in a fight.
That, at least, is what CBS would have America believe. The broadcaster is facing extraordinary hostility from family values campaigners after deciding to promote its Christmas schedule with a satirical version of the wholesome children's cartoon entitled: "Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman."
The two-minute films starring the "sexed-up" character were released on YouTube earlier this week, with the tagline: "some things are best left alone."
They consisted of clips from classic Frosty episodes, dubbed over with risque audio samples from the post-watershed CBS sitcoms How I Met Your Mother and Two And A Half Men.
"We got to have a bro's night at a strip club," Frosty tells a group of apple-cheeked children in one typical excerpt, proudly adding that: "I have been with a lot of women: blondes, brunettes, redheads, big boobs, small boobs, medium boobs, some boobs that were big... but in a bad way."
Other passages saw the cuddly snowman, who first appeared on film in 1954, discuss the pros and cons of orgies, the dangers of sexually-transmitted disease, techniques to help slow yourself down when having intercourse, and the pressing issue of whether a grandmother can ever be "sexy."
Amusing though the clips occasionally are, they fly squarely in the face of America's censorious attitude towards public morality.
