http://hot995.com/

A radio station known for its off-color humor in the nation’s capital is using the Gulf Coast oil spill to promote a summer contest, telling listeners they could win an “amazing five-night cruise to Bermuda” where “the only oil you’ll have to worry about is the tanning kind.”

“Picture this: a photogenic sheen, the smell of dispersant in the air, and tar balls as far as the eye can see,” says a spot running on HOT 99.5. “What? Not your idea of a perfect vacation? Then you need to get on HOT’s oil-free cruise. Listen all week ’cause anytime you win a prize on 99.5 you’re automatically qualified to win this week’s Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda.”

The contest to “Win an Oil-Free Cruise!” is also prominently displayed on the web site of HOT 99.5, which airs Ryan Seacrest’s nationally syndicated radio show and describes itself as “the station everyone turns to for D.C.’s hottest music.”

The station, playing mostly pop and dance tunes, has a reputation for zaniness — if not irreverence — in its programming and promotions. A promotional spot on Thursday took aim at country music stations, featuring a character named “Bob, B-O-B” who told listeners, “Y’all stay close, you reckon.” During a traffic report the same day, drivers in Frederick, Md., an outer suburb of Washington, were referred to as “Fredneckians,” and drivers who considered taking a major highway were told they “might be crazy not yet on the order of Mel Gibson, because that’s damn crazy.”

That same type of “broad humor” is being “employed by HOT 99.5 to promote a long-planned contest giving away cruises to Bermuda,” according to HOT 99.5’s promotions director, Kim Sauer.

“[It] is being taken by our listeners in the spirit in which it was intended — as a joke and nothing more,” Sauer said in an email to Fox News.

But a spokesman for one of the Gulf Coast governors called the promotional spot “unfortunate,” saying it spreads “misinformation” and “reinforces the widely believed idea that oil is everywhere.”

Many Americans remain too scared to visit Gulf Coast beaches, even though state officials in the region insist the vast majority of their beaches are safe and untarnished by the oil spill. In fact, only “minor amounts” of tar balls and oil have been reported on the shores of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

“We have been focusing our efforts on letting potential tourists know that, [despite] this radio spot, our beaches are clean and safe, and Florida continues to be a great place to vacation,” said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

A person close to the radio market in Washington called the promotional spot “tasteless,” as residents in the region struggle to deal with the financial and environmental impact of the oil spill.

Sauer said the media giant that owns HOT 99.5, ClearChannel, is “keenly aware of the plights of Gulf business owners and communities.”

ClearChannel owns more than 800 radio stations across the country, and the stations in the Gulf Coast region “have been an important media platform for news, public service announcements, and informational campaigns about conditions all along the Coast, including information about current travel and tourism conditions,” according to Sauer.

On Thursday, the White House announced that President Barack Obama and his family will “spend the weekend” in Florida’s Gulf Coast in mid-August.

Governors’ offices in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama either declined to comment for this article or did not respond to emails from Fox News.

An email to Royal Caribbean was also not returned. The person close to the radio market in Washington said the cruise line “shopped” the free-cruise promotion to “several stations in the area,” but only HOT 99.5 decided to participate.