Oh yeah…the Colts and the Saints and the sportscasters are hyping it, too.
But the annual event features the battle of the Super Bowl
commercials with just about as much drama as the battle on the field.
News stories tease…Which advertiser will deliver the most unique and
attention-grabbing message this year?
I don’t know the other contenders, but two weeks before the big event, the Super Bowl commercial featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow is already drawing all the attention.
“The CBS Super Bowl commercial, sponsored by the evangelical
Christian group Focus on the Family, features University of Florida
football star Tim Tebow and his missionary mother, Pam, discussing her
decision 23 years ago to continue with her pregnancy despite
complications. She was pregnant with her son, winner of the 2007
Heisman Trophy.
“Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., and founded
by James Dobson, described its first Super Bowl advertisement as a
celebration of “family and life [and] comes at the right moment in the
culture, because families need to be inspired.”
“CBS’ decision on the Tebow ad comes as networks and TV stations have struggled for revenue amid a weak advertising market.”
For pro-abortion groups, this is an ideological matter and not an economic one (an interesting paradox for them).
“CBS’ shift in policy has galvanized a coalition of organizations,
which have been urging the network to reject the Tebow ad on the
grounds that it offends Americans who believe that “reproductive
decisions should be left to a woman and her physician.”
Wait….this is a case that was. It was a “reproductive
decision” the physicians deliberated over with Mrs. Tebow. She had a
choice, so this should be about what a woman may do when faced with
such a tough choice, and how….in spite of the odds against
her….choosing to give birth and life may have outstanding consequences.
Trouble is, Mrs. Tebow made the wrong choice for the ‘pro-choice’ activists, and this confrontation is the starkest unmasking yet of their false identity.
“CBS has had a well-documented position that it would not accept ads
about contentious or controversial subjects,” said Jehmu Greene,
president of the New York-based Women’s Media Center, which is
spearheading the campaign. “I don’t think there is another issue in our
society as contentious and controversial as abortion. There is some
very strong hypocrisy at work.”
Ms. Greene was a guest on the Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor Tuesday
evening and host Bill O’Reilly re-stated the controversy to clarify.
Abortion activists charge the ad is trying to turn the public against
‘choice.’ O’Reilly said….wait a minute….it shows that Mrs. Tebow had a
choice and chose to have this baby, and Tim Tebow is the result of that
choice, which he celebrates. Can you not, Ms. Greene, applaud the fact
that Mrs. Tebow had a choice and made the one she felt most strongly
about, asked O’Reilly?
‘I applaud the fact that Mrs. Tebow had a choice,’ she responded with stress.
‘Aren’t you attacking the group Focus on the Family more than
addressing the message of their ad?’ asked O’Reilly. ‘You’re trying to
muzzle these guys!’
Which is a great point.
On this same news show the other day, former Clinton administration
advisor Lanny Davis lamented that hard-left liberals are increasingly
attacking the messenger instead of debating the message, or even
engaging it. ‘That’s when you know they’re losing’ said Davis.
