March may be cold, but it's hot and heavy here at OnMilwaukee.com as we celebrate our first-ever Sex Week. We're taking a mature look at local video and sex toy shops, area strip clubs, sexy Milwaukee events -- and even some connections between Brew City and Playboy magazine. It's serious, responsible, adult-themed content -- but don't worry, parents, we'll keep it PG-13 in case junior stumbles upon these stories as OnMilwaukee.com turns a pale shade of blue for seven days.

At a time when businesses and industries are downsizing and collapsing, Noel Biderman is happy to be involved with a growing, bustling enterprise.

In good times and bad, it seems, adultery never goes out of style.

Biderman, a 38-year-old lawyer and former sports agent, is the president and chief operating officer of Avid Life Media and has been dubbed "The King of Infidelity" because his Web site,
AshleyMadison.com, is a dating service designed for people who are married and / or attached.

"When we were researching this site and doing our due diligence, we found that 30 percent of people on traditional singles sites were attached and using the anonymity of the Web to lie about their marital status," Biderman said during a recent interview.

"Most of our clients aren't seeking a new relationship. They are seeking the the physical intimacy lacking in their current relationship."

Business has been booming.

"It took us almost six years to get our first 1 million users," Biderman said. "Then, we added 2.4 million in the last year and a half."

An aggressive marketing campaign -- slogans include "Life is short; have an affair" and "When monogamy becomes monotony" -- coupled with numerous mentions by Howard Stern on his radio program, helped prime the pump for AshleyMadison.com's success. When NBC officials decided not to allow AshleyMadison.com to advertise during the Super Bowl, Biderman -- who is happily married with two children -- made the rounds on talk shows and membership increased again.

When the Parents Television Council urged media outlets to refuse advertising dollars from AshleyMadison.com, Biderman pointed to an ad for "Guitar Hero" that featured swimmer Michael Phelps (marijuana), baseball player Alex Rodriguez (steroids) and basketball star Kobe Bryant, whose 2005 sexual assault case was settled out of court.

Biderman argues that he is not "creating" adultery, which has been around a lot longer than the Internet. His goal, he says, is not to create "cheaters" with 30-second commercials but to serve a huge market that already exists.

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16 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by BrewCityTimmy on March 12, 2009 at 10:04 a.m. (report)

When did sex become a need? You can live a quite fulfilling life without ever having sex. I married my bride because I love her not so I could have a consistent sex outlet. If you just view your significant other only as a sex outlet then you have bigger issues than just perusing some website for people willing to drag the bottom of the barrel for a hook up. If you arent getting some go get some counseling, take your wife on a date, or bring her some flowers when you havent done something stupid. If you are married and not having regular sex something is out of whack in the relationship. Do something to fix it! Going on some stupid website is like throwing duct tape on a pipe that burst in the basement and expecting it to make things better.

Posted by brewergal1978 on March 11, 2009 at 9:59 a.m. (report)

Oh please. I find this website loathsome as much as anyone, but infidelity has been around since the dawn of time and will continue long after this website. Someone who really wants to cheat will find a way to do it with or without help from the internet.

Posted by Crash on March 10, 2009 at 7:45 p.m. (report)

Beware of the scams on this site. Don't think you can just arrange a tryst so easily... You could make a date to meet someone and end up getting mugged...

Posted by lcat on March 10, 2009 at 4:52 p.m. (report)

why are you promoting infidelity? don't get it!!?? that site's gross!

Posted by Southern_Ex_pat on March 10, 2009 at 2:38 p.m. (report)

dvm- I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.