Comments on: The Real Question Raised by Focus on the Family’s Tim Tebow Ad

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:34:21 +0000

This ad was unneccesary for the simple reason that people tend not to change their mind on an issue this emotionally-charged in thirty freakin seconds! The previous comments about spending the money in other areas where they really could have supported life are powerful and correct, but what is really going on here? To answer this question it should be pointed out that if someone were watching the ad with no awareness of the controversy or was unfamiliar with the group in general, it would be VERY difficult to decipher what the ad was all about. This is why I think that the real motive here was less about “taking a stand against abortion” than that of using a cheap gimmick to get people to go to their website to find “the rest of the story” whereupon they would then be exposed to ALL of Focus on the “straight, conservative, evangelical” Family’s OTHER propoganda on a variety of issues including – you guessed it – the Ex-Gay fraud. THAT is what is really going on here. Focus is not stupid. They knew this ad wasn’t going to change minds on abortion. The ad buy was just a smokescreen to (1) create a controversy that would give them free media exposure, and (2) provide a viable reason to spend 2.5 million dollars to get their web address in front of 100 million people for the aforementioned purpose of exposing as many people as possible to their propaganda. What else would a desperate organization do when they’re losing the culture wars their organization bases its existence on? As a former evangelical who sat in on many strategy meetings to lure non-Christian people into venues that were purportedly for one purpose only to spring “the gospel” on them once they suckered them in, I HAVE NO DOUBT that this “pro-life” ad was nothing but unholy subterfuge of the same variety.

By: Priya Lynn

Priya Lynn — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:10:46 +0000

Ahh, I see.

By: Evan Hurst

Evan Hurst — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:08:09 +0000

In the second version of the ad that ran, he tackled her.

You can probably find it on YouTube.

By: Priya Lynn

Priya Lynn — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:03:19 +0000

What’s with this talk about him “tackling” his mother? He didn’t tackle her, he gave her a hug.

By: Ben in oakland

Ben in oakland — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:12:45 +0000

They have a vested interest in NOT actually doing anything about abortion, in any snese of the word doing. If they succeed in banning abortion, they also ban their cash cow. If they donated the money towards services that actually hep mothers to be have their children, that would mean they were truly serious about it, and that would be hypocritical.

They just can’t win

By: Gary (NJ)

Gary (NJ) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:10:34 +0000

Michael—Amen!

By: Michael Airhart

Michael Airhart — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:33:13 +0000

Real “Christians” would have spent the money on comprehensive sex education, medical research to prevent and treat defects, and pre- and post-natal care.

Instead, it was spent on pious self-promotion.

By: Ben in oakland

Ben in oakland — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:21:08 +0000

Not a waste of money at all. just money they couldn’t spend to attack us.

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:18:32 +0000

What a waste of money.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:53:04 +0000

A very odd commercial.
Tackling his Mother is somehow “pro-life” ? Oh, I get the try at off-beat humor with the tackling scene but I found it a bit disturbingly shocking that a 245lb. man is using his Mother for a tackling dummy to show her how much that he loves her.
The whole commercial made me go, “ick”.