So the much commented-upon Tim Tebow Super Boal ad is now out.
I thought it was really, really . . . sweet.
Tim Drake offers similar thoughts on the beauty of the ad.
The ad was disarmingly non-controversial. It was just really, really sweet.
Yes, I did see a comment from NOW proclaiming that the ad fostered violence against women due to the unexpected mom tackle in the ad, but . . . c’mon. This is an ad to be aired in a football game. It’s a joke. Even I, a total non-football fan, “get it.” And mom even has the “You’re nowhere near as tough as I am” line as the capper. This is all playful, not threatening.
It’s sweet.
And that’s about all.
The pro-life issue was so buried in the ad that you’d have to know that it was there in order to perceive it at all. The only way an uninitiate would ever find out that this ad had anything to do with abortion would be to go to Focus on the Family’s web site and read more.
So this was definitely pro-life lite in its approach.
Maybe it had to be. Maybe the network wouldn’t have run the ad with an explicit reference to abortion.
But that raises the question—given the large amounts of money paid for Super Bowl ads—of whether the effort was worth it.
The ad may have too little bang for too many bucks.
Maybe it was worth it. Maybe enough people will go to the link to make it worthwhile. Or maybe the controversy that preceded the ad got enough helpful discussion going that it would make it worthwhile to run the ad.
Or maybe not.
I can certainly see why people who had high hopes for the ad would be disappointed.
It would have been strengthened 500% if mom’s line, “I call him my miracle baby. He almost didn’t make it into this world. I remember so many times when I almost lost him,” had been augmented even just by the words “Some people told me not to have him.” That would have at least gotten the real issue on the table, without having to use the “A” word (if that would have been a dealbreaker with network).
So it definitely seems that it’s debatable whether the ad was worthwhile.
Anyone care to debate?
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I agree Jimmy. It’s debatable. But I think the discussion before the event probably made it worth it. And it was an important step in getting the “door opened” to pro-life (even if it’s prolife LITE) advertisements for big events like this.
It was also very revealing and telling how all of the so called “pro-women” groups reacted simply to the IDEA of the commercial. And now they look silly having objected to such a “sweet” ad.
Overall, I think it’s a good step in the right direction. Maybe next year pro-life groups can push it a bit further now that the door has been opened.
Oh, the ad was definitely worth it. In fact, in many ways, it was worth many times more money than was actually spent on it. The best summary of why this is true I’ve found here: Link. Dr. Nadal’s letter really summarizes why this was brilliant strategy on the part of FOF, as it caused organizations like NARAL and NOW to show their true colors without even realizing it. Evidence that this strategy worked comes in the form of columns like this one, from a self-proclaimed pro-choice feminist at the Washington Post: Link.
“Some people told me not to have him.” I do believe that line would most certainly have eliminated the ad from air time. The Focus on the Family folks are pretty smart and, I believe, knew what they were doing and how far they could push that proverbial envelope.
Don’t forget - abortion is, in reality, not a political issue but an individual choice, and people make choices based on personal values, not on other people’s ethical standards. An ad that inculcates the idea that motherhood is a positive experience hopefully reinforces the maternal instinct in girls whose upbringing has been lacking in moral guidance, and whose present situation has many personal negatives which are “front and center” in their minds. Ads of this type remind me of the soda commercial in the 70’s in which the little blond kid got mugged by 13 puppies. I still remember the ad, and I don’t drink soda. A powerful image is a powerful persuader.
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