 For the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, there was as much talk about the game as there was about the commercial to be run by Focus on the Family, a pro-life group. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched shows on television each year. In fact, this year was the most watched show ever! As such, Super Bowl advertising time doesn’t come cheap and this year a 30-second spot cost around $2.5 million dollars. When women’s groups found out that Focus on the Family had purchased a spot, they got on the warpath and began to mobilize.No one had seen the spot. It was known that the spot was going to tell the story of Pam Tebow and her son Tim. When Pam was pregnant with Tim, she became sick while in the Philippines and doctors suggested she have an abortion. Obviously, she didn’t and her son grew up to become one of the greatest college football players in history.
CBS said they had approved the script and felt the commercial was appropriate. Did this stop the women’s groups? Of course not, they were on a mission to generate as much hate towards CBS regarding their decision that they would be forced to pull the commercial. They accused CBS of taking the money – can you blame them in this economy? They were making $83,000 a second. Jehmu Greene of Women’s Media Center said, “This campaign is about holding CBS and the NFL and the other Super Bowl advertisers accountable for inserting an exceedingly controversial issue into a place where we all hope Americans will be united, not divided, in terms of watching America’s most-watched sporting event.” She went on to say, “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.†Another women’s group said, “By offering one of the most coveted advertising spots of the year to an anti-equality, anti-choice, homophobic organization, CBS is aligning itself with a political stance that will damage its reputation, alienate viewers, and discourage consumers from supporting its shows and advertisers.†Fortunately, it didn’t work and after seeing the commercial, I can’t believe all the commotion. There was no mention of abortion.. There was no mention of pro-life. Mrs. Tebow referred to her son as a miracle baby. The tagline read “Celebrate Family. Celebrate Life.â€Â That’s what all the fuss was about. This is a classic example of jumping to conclusions. If I wasn’t aware of the commotion, I would have wondered what the spot was for. It definitely would have forced me to visit the Focus on the Family website to learn more. In the end, Focus on the Family received two weeks of free publicity and had a commercial that left their opposition with egg on their face, which can definitely happen when you jump to conclusions. To save face, the National Organization of Women is saying that the commercial glorified violence towards women because it depicts the football player tackling his mother. Seriously? That’s the best you can do. If that is your argument, why don’t you bring up the Snickers commercial where the football player tackles 88-year-old Betty White? Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, it is best to make that opinion after all the facts are known and, especially in this case, to voice that opinion. |
