This past weekend was Superbowl Sunday. A day where it is okay to sit around and eat massive amounts of greasy, unhealthy food, watch football and cheer on the nation’s top two teams. But, if you are anything like me, you tune in for what comes between the tackles, touchdowns, and interceptions – the commercials.
One commercial had been gaining publicity for weeks: Tim Tebow’s Pro-Life Campaign. Click here to watch.
Although I am not a Tim Tebow fan (actually, quite the opposite), I was surprised by the commercial that aired this past Sunday. Regardless of my political viewpoint, the commercial, although cheesy, kept the message subtle and did not act as the “downer” I was expecting.
So why all the hype? It was a pro-life ad, but without the strong pro-life message.
According to USA Today, critics will have a hard time latching on to this ad because of its subtle nature.
Tim Tebow’s mom simply stood in front of a white screen and talked about her “miracle” son. The commercial attempted to incorporate humor with a tackle and Mrs. Tebow saying she was “tougher” than her son. What the viewer doesn’t know from the ad is that Tim Tebow’s mom almost died from carrying her son full-term.
Airing within the first twenty minutes of the Superbowl, the advertisement competed with Doritos, Toyota, Hyundai, and the Superbowl classic: Bud Light. Although it did not have the same laugh-out-loud quality, it still got the intended message across: to increase visitors to the Focus on the Family website.
That is the point of a Superbowl advertisement, right? To publicize a product, website, or idea so that the company will see an increase in sales, gain support, or increase website hits.
On a lighter note - did you watch the Superbowl on Sunday? Which commercial was your favorite? Personally, mine was the baby Clydesdale and calf BL commercial.
Thank you for the post. I am quite interested in the issue, I mean not only the ad but also the entire pro-life/pro-choice debate. Coming from a different culture, I find it very difficult to understand the main arguments. I am definitely not coming from a more liberal culture but maybe because of Islam's different view on the life cycle of a fetus, abortion was never an issue in my country.
ReplyDeleteThis particular ad seems unfair to me, just because pro-life tends to block your freedom to choice. I mean if pro-choice is the only view, and one still doesn't want to get an abortion, she can. But if pro-life is the only view, there is no way to get an abortion. (Did I say abortion too many times?)
Anyways, I do agree with your point on advertisement and publicity. But I still found it 'interesting' to see a conservative (and a little bit oppressive) ad on air.