"A Chicago-based Catholic organization says NBC-TV won't air an anti-abortion video during Sunday's Super Bowl that portrays President Obama as an unborn child," UPI reports.
The wire service adds, "The spot has had more than 700,000 hits on YouTube since CatholicVote.org, a subsidiary of Fidelis, ran it on its Web site, The Washington Times reported Friday."
By noon, the number had risen to 869,580 hits, RAW STORY notes.
Even though the ad uses the freshly sworn-in US president, and refers to his race for no apparent reason, a press release issued by Fidelis states, "There is nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement."
"We show a beautiful ultrasound, something NBC’s parent company GE has done for years," Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote.org writes. "We congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the first African-American President. And we simply ask people to imagine the potential of every human life."
The Washington Times story reports, "Brian Burch, president of Fidelis, said NBC originally responded with a proposal for a package including ads on NBC-owned or operated stations in the country's top 10 markets plus an additional four cities for a price tag of $1.5 million to $1.8 million. The immensely popular football game is known for the unusual and trendy kinds of ads it attracts."
"We put out the call to our members and large pro-life benefactors who told us they would put up significant dollars to make this happen," Mr. Burch told the paper. "I was told the ad was approved and then there were a number of attorneys working on it. Then I was told they didn't want to run political or advocacy ads."
The following press release was issued by the Fidelis Center
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CHICAGO – NBC has rejected an uplifting and positive pro-life ad submitted for its Super Bowl broadcast this Sunday. After several days of negotiations, an NBC representative in Chicago told CatholicVote.org late yesterday that NBC and the NFL are not interested in advertisements involving ‘political advocacy or issues.’
Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote.org reacted: “There is nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement. We show a beautiful ultrasound, something NBC’s parent company GE has done for years. We congratulate Barack Obama on becoming the first African-American President. And we simply ask people to imagine the potential of every human life.”
“NBC told CatholicVote.org that they do not allow political or issue advocacy advertisements. But that’s not what they told PETA,” said Burch. “There’s no doubt that PETA is an advocacy group. NBC rejected PETA’s ad for another reason altogether.”
According to an email posted on PETA.org, Victoria Morgan, Vice President of Advertising Standards for Universal, said: “The PETA spot submitted to Advertising Standards depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards.” Morgan even detailed “edits that need to be made” in order for the spot to run during the Super Bowl.
“NBC claims it doesn’t allow advocacy ads, but that’s not true. They were willing to air an ad by PETA if they would simply tone down the sexual suggestiveness. Our ad is far less provocative, and hardly controversial by comparison,” said Burch.
“The purpose of our new ad is to spread a message of hope about the potential of every human life, including the life of Barack Obama,” said Burch. “We are now looking at alternative venues to run the ad over the next several weeks.”
The ad aired on BET in Chicago on Inauguration Day. It has become an Internet hit with over 700,000 views in seven days. The ad was in the top 10 ‘most viewed’ category on YouTube on Inauguration Day last week.
The ad reads: “This child’s future is a broken home. He will be abandoned by his father. His single mother will struggle to raise him. Despite the hardships he will endure…this child…will become…the 1st African-American President.” The ad concludes with the tagline, “Life: Imagine the Potential.” The ad is the first of several ads in new campaign launched by CatholicVote.org.
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The following video of the ad was posted on January 18 at Youtube:
"A Chicago-based Catholic organization says NBC-TV won't air an anti-abortion video during Sunday's Super Bowl that portrays President Obama as an unborn child," 