Super Bowl Offense

By: American Decency Staff

In what has become one of America’s biggest modern-day traditions, millions of families gathered around their televisions last night to watch the Super Bowl.  And while defense may be key to winning the game, offense – as in offensive – is what marks many of the multi-million dollar Super Bowl ads which generate such hype. FOX TV, which had the rights to the Super Bowl this year, also had the right to approve or decline the ads which ran.  I can imagine the FOX ad department making a list and checking it twice to make sure they had all the expected elements of Super Bowl commercials. -       Crude humor which results in a man getting hit in the privates – Check.  (Pepsi Max ad) -       Promotion of alcohol and excessive drinking – Check. (Budweiser ads) -       Ads demeaning and sexually objectifying women  – Check.  (GoDaddy.com, Teleflora, etc.) -       Profanity-laced ad – Check.  (Brisk ice tea) -       Sick violence (i.e. catapulting a baby against a window) – Check.  (HomeAway.com) -       Offending entire people groups with stereotypical depictions (GroupOn.com, Pepsi Max) And so on.  You get the idea.  However, there was a commercial that FOX deemed so offensive it refused to air the ad.  What was the ad that FOX didn’t want to touch with a ten foot pole?  An innocuous ad that refers to the scripture John 3:16 and directs viewers to a website LookUp316.com. The ad shows a group of fans watching a football game who notice that one of the players is wearing John 3:16 written in his eye-black. (A verse, by the way, that is as standard at American sporting events as the giant foam finger.)  In the ad, one of fans says, “Hey, I’ve seen that before.  What does it mean?â€ÂÂ  And another guy says, “I don’t know.  Hey, I’ll look it up.â€ÂÂ  Cut to the site address on the screen for LookUp316.com. That’s the so-called “controversialâ€Â ad FOX refused to air.  They’ll gladly take the $3 million per 30 second commercial to air truly offensive ads, but won’t take the money from a group promoting a truly inspirational message. However, FOX gladly took the money from Skechers shoes which ran an extremely salacious ad featuring a skimpily clad Kim Kardashian seemingly about to have sex with her workout trainer on the floor of a gym.  The camera erotically pans her nearly nude body as she foregoes her trainer for the shoes. And FOX had no qualms about airing the lewd ad for British-made Mini-Cooper cars.  The catch-phrase of this ad was “Cram it in the Boot.â€ÂÂ  With a play on words and vulgar imagery, this ad made blatant reference to anal sex to the millions of viewers, both young and old, tuning in. These are the themes that FOX approves of for family viewing.  But air an ad with a Christian message and you just might offend someone. FOX TV has long-proved it is no friend of the family with shows such as “Family Guyâ€Â and “American Dadâ€Â which offend moral sensibilities on a weekly basis.  So it comes as no surprise that FOX continued that tradition of offending not only with the ads they chose – but also with one ad they refused to air. ——————————————————————————————————————— Your support is important to our ability to make a difference. Donate online at: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/donate.php American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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