Curmudgeon's Corner
cur-mud-geon: anyone who hates hypocrisy and pretense and has the temerity to say so; anyone with the habit of pointing out unpleasant facts in an engaging and humorous manner
Super Bowl Commercials
Super Bowl commercials capture our attention to the degree that a 30 second spot costs millions of dollars. We see some of the most inventive and creative commercials each year during the Super Bowl. The Budweiser commercials are usually very well done. The GoDaddy commercials usually feature a scantily clad young woman since everyone knows the old adage: “sex sells”.
Fox has apparently decided that, while “sex sells”, religion cannot be permitted to appear even in a relatively innocuous commercial that was produced by the Fixed Point Foundation in Birmingham, AL. This organization was prepared to pay the price, but was denied that opportunity. The commercial has been set to run on the Fox affiliate in Birmingham as an alternative but to a significantly smaller audience, obviously.
Have you ever seen a sign being displayed in the background of a TV shot at a sporting event that says “John 3:16”? I’ll bet you have. The commercial that couldn’t be run shows the “John 3:16” reference in the eye black of a football player in this proposed commercial. You can see what that commercial would’ve looked like by clicking here.
I suspect that Fox wasn’t as concerned about that advertisement as it was about the potential repercussion from other religions that hadn’t thought of a commercial and/or from individuals who would protest such an airing because they didn’t agree with the suggestion that there is a Christ. When broadcast organizations set themselves up in the position of censor, they move onto less-than-firm turf. They risk repercussions whether they run such a commercial or don’t run such a commercial.
Would this commercial have been in the same “poor taste” category that the “wardrobe malfunction” half-time performance (supposedly an accident) was seen to be a few years ago? That seems doubtful to me, but then again I am a Christian so what do I know about such things?
I wonder if players gathering in prayer will be shown or censored.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.