-By Mike Shields

Advertisers are far more accepting of envelope-pushing comedy on the Web, as long as the envelope is being pushed by professionals.

Web comedy producers said that they are able to produce more edgy and sometimes racy comedic videos than they ever would on TV while still balancing the needs of advertisers---who typically only ask that their brands be shielded from the most bawdy material, according to a group of panelists assembled during a Sept. 25 Advertising week event dubbed Internet Comedy: Pushing Advertising's F**king Limits. But those brands are less forgiving of user-generated clips, the panelists said.

For example, when CollegeHumor was founded, its content was built on a lot of user-submissions, including photos of topless co-eds. These days, “user generated content is less and less interesting to clients,” said co-founder Josh Abramson. “We’re more and more focused on original comedy. You don’t have to be constricted by typical guidelines. But you’re constantly walking a fine line.”

Abramson acknowledged that some of his site original material would never past muster for advertisers, like the recently popular and bordering on explicit “Realistic Hollywood Sex Scene,” which has generated 5 million views. Content like that, Abramson said, is cordoned off in a special “not safe for advertisers” area of the site—a tactic that is deliberately not obvious to users. Plus, his sales team also won’t sell ads alongside content that travels beyond CollegeHumor.com to other video sites.

Most agreed that a similar dance was needed to assuage nervous brands when it comes to the more ribald material (such as Comedy Centrals’ My Best Friend Is My Penis). But generally, certain brands—particularly ones that target 18-34 year old men—know and accept what they are getting into on these sites. “There is a competition to make that eyeball count....and make noise in a crowded environment,” said Lou Wallach, Comedy Central’s senior vp of programming and development. “But that Comedy Central filter is important to our advertisers. Brands like Axe, video game companies....People who have a sense of humor about themselves [are ok with most content]. There is a certain expectation of a [this] generation.”

Sean Mills, president of The Onion, said that his team rarely worries about pleasing brands ahead of time when producing original Web video. “We don’t really think about advertisers when we go through the creative process,” he said. “Only after.”

“They are buying us in large part because they like the brand and like the content,” he added. “We don’t have to run scripts by them.”

Abramson said one of the biggest challenges faced when brands look to harness the popularity of funny Web videos is timing. Even if a brand wanted to sponsor “Sex Scene”  once it took off, it would likely be too late. “It got 5 million views, and it probably won’t get another 5 million. There really is a short life to some of these things.”