Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Controversy

February 1, 2010 · Filed Under Baum's Blog 

Most years the big conversation about Super Bowl ads happens on the Monday after the game.  But, this year a controversial situation arose more than a week before the Super Bowl.

A conservative Christian group (Focus on the Family) is planning to air an ad featuring football player Tim Tebow and his mom with the theme “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.”  Seems like a nice message, except that all speculation says this is likely to be an ad with an anti-abortion message.  Focus on the Family is known for being anti-equality, anti-choice, and homophobic.

We don’t know yet how subtle this ad will or will not be.   What is striking here is that in the past, issue ads were not included among Super Bowl advertisements.  Apparently, networks have strict policies about showing contentious issues in national commercials.

According to Andrew Sullivan in the Daily Dish Blog at the Atlantic just this year CBS denied an ad for a gay dating service.  Can we say hypocritical?  It seems to me that a network should either be airing both ads – or neither.  If they want to make judgments about which life style choices are acceptable, they shouldn’t only approve of anti-abortion Christian groups.

So I take issue with CBS deciding certain issues are okay to share on Super Bowl Sunday and certain issues are not.  I’m also concerned that the Tim Tebow ad might not even be truthful.  A  story in today’s Huffington Post says that the ad, which will likely focus on Pam Tebow’s 1987 pregnancy, is based on a falsehood.  Tebow claims that she fell ill in the Philippines during her pregnancy and was advised by doctors to have an abortion.  She went against medical advice and gave birth to Tim.  However, it turns out abortion under any circumstances has been illegal in the Philippines since 1930 – making it unlikely that the doctors there recommended it.

If the ad is false, then I am particularly disgusted that CBS will air the ad.  In either case, I think CBS needs to have a clear position about the ads it will and will not show. The way they are acting now suggests that they may choose to run this ad but not pro-choice ads.  Given the viewership of the Super Bowl, I would hope CBS would be more responsible.  When I watch the Super Bowl next week, I hope to see no wardrobe malfunctions or issue ads and to see lots of great soda and website ads.  It just seems simpler to keep the issue ads out.

That said… if CBS is going to air issue ads, then I want an ad showing religious choice.  Please share your ideas for what they ad would look like.

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Comments

3 Responses to “Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Controversy”

  1. Brian Anten Says:
    February 1st, 2010 at 10:35 pm

    Stir it up!
    I respect your courage for raising the issue.
    Those that believe , either way, will not be persuaded by a commercial.
    First Amendment equals exposure through revelation.
    Sincerely,
    Brian Anten

  2. Marcie Rosenston Says:
    February 3rd, 2010 at 10:49 am

    If you don’t terminate your pregnancy, you too can give birth to a good-looking star quarterback with a bright future! How naive. I have always wondered – how many right-to-lifers adopt unwanted children?

  3. Laurie Ogborn Says:
    February 8th, 2010 at 9:09 am

    Planned Parent published a beautiful response to this controversy, in advance of the Super Bowl. In essence, they thanked Pam Tibow for her strong support of their position that a woman should have the right to consider the advice of others and then make her own decision based on her personal needs/values… which is exactly what she did. How brilliant is that?!

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