A Super Bowl commercial featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow is stirring national debate.
Conservative Christian group Focus on the Family is sponsoring the 30-second spot featuring the college football star and his mother recounting her pregnancy in 1987.
“They will share a personal story centered on the theme of ‘Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life,’” Jim Daly, the group's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
After getting sick during a mission trip to the Philippines, Pam Tebow rejected doctors’ recommendation to abort her fifth child and gave birth to Tim. As the Florida Gators quarterback, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner helped his team to two BCS championships.
"An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year - an event designed to bring Americans together," said Jehmu Greene, president of the New York-based Women's Media Center, the Associated Press reported.
The network will ensure that any issue-oriented ad is "appropriate for air," said Dana McClintock, a CBS spokesman.
The Women's Media Center and the National Organization for Women are among the critics urging the network to scrap the ad while supporters range from Americans United for Life, Coral Ridge Ministries and the Susan B. Anthony List, a network representing pro-life women in politics. Last week, the group launched www.blockhardfortebow.com where they said 50,000 people posted comments endorsing the advertisement.
A top 10 list of reasons for why the ad has to go posted on the Women’s Media Center Web site included: Don’t need Monday morning quarterbacking on my reproductive health decisions. I know someone who had an abortion – and I stand by her choice. We couldn’t even deal with Janet Jackson’s nipple, how are we going to manage abortion?"
“All the national networks, including CBS, have policies that rule out the broadcast of certain types of contentious advocacy ads. In 2004, CBS cited such a policy in rejecting an ad by the liberal-leaning United Church of Christ highlighting the UCC's welcoming stance toward gays and others who might feel shunned by more conservative churches,” according to an AP story.
"But CBS, which broadcasts the game every three years in rotation with Fox and NBC, changed its policy in 2008 to accept ads that sell opinions rather than products. Since then, CBS has run issue ads on subjects like health care reform and the environment," wrote New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott in an article Monday. "This is the first Super Bowl for CBS with the new policy in effect. The old policy was in effect when CBS rejected a request from a liberal organization, MoveOn.org, that sought to buy a spot during the 2004 Super Bowl to protest the policies of President George W. Bush."
A handful of "very generous and committed friends" donated money to air the ad, Daly said. No money from the ministry's general fund was used, he said.
Is the Super Bowl, one of the most widely watched events in television history, the best or appropriate place for advocacy ads?
Any privately funded production is an appropriate place for any privately funded advertisement that meets the private production company's standards and requirements.
After all, nobody has to watch!
Ken
Conservative, Libertarian, Life member of the NRA and VFW
I think the important issue is whether the network applies it's policies equally. In other words, if they would air a pro choice ad, then they should air a pro life ad. Commercial TV time is on the market for purchase. If the ad conforms to their guidelines, and they are charging a fair and reasonable price for the time, it should air.
If we value free speech, then we have to give it to everyone, no matter whether we agree with them or not.
This does not have to divide us, unless we as people decide that we can not tolerate alternate views.
Well...CBS, which is a private entity that supposedly "owns" our national airways, thinks it can pick and choose. They did reject an ad for a gay men's social network for this year's gala.
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1Co 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
Well, personally, I think the only acceptable advocacy ads in this year's Superbowl are those that advocate the Colts kicking the Saints butts.
Democrats think the glass is half full. Republicans think the glass is theirs. Libertarians want to break the glass, because they think a conspiracy created it.
Any privately funded production is an appropriate place for any privately funded advertisement that meets the private production company's standards and requirements.
CL, with my wife being from New Orleans, and having many, many relatives there, I am of course hoping that the Saints, my second favorite NFL team (first is naturally the New england Patriots) defeat the Colts.
Having gotten that out of the way.....
CBS doesn't own the airwaves. CBS controls a segment of them, like many other private media companies. Whether or not I agree with the decisions by CBS regarding advertisementts, it is and should be solely the decision of CBS. I have the choice of whether or not to watch. I'll probably do my normal thing of changing channels... or going to split screen duing commercials, except for the Budweiser Clydesdale ones which I always enjoy, being a total 'hose nut'.
Ken
Conservative, Libertarian, Life member of the NRA and VFW
In general I am support efforts to normalize homosexuality, to destigmitise it. And I would have no problem with a gay dating web site being advertised.
I will say I read some commentary from a Gay father who was disgusted by the ad. He said he hopes it does NOT run because it plays into every unflattering sterotype of gay men he can think of and it gives the wrong message. He says he will NOT let his children see the ad.
CBS doesn't own the airwaves. CBS controls a segment of them, like many other private media companies.
They may as well own them.
Seeing as how they decide that one ad is too disrespectful to one group of Americans, while another ad is not too disrespectful to another group of Americans
What I really think, though, is that the super bowl is an ineffective place to run a pro life ad, is they have the millions to spend on ads, I think it would be more effective as a public service ad to be run multiple times rather than try to take advantage of the fact that super bowl ads generate a lot of interest -- the funny, creative ones, that is. Running it during the super bowl isn't going to change anybody's minds, and that's assuming viewers actually pay attention.
