The first Focus on the Family ad featuring Tim Tebow aired during the Super Bowl pre-game show, and though Tebow’s mother never explicitly discusses abortion, she does celebrate “her miracle baby” while a strummy Juno-esque soundtrack plays in the background.
For all the hype that went into the ad, it seemed somewhat muddled in its message, directing viewers to visit the Focus on the Family site in order to learn more about Tebow, and, presumably, the organization’s stance on abortion, though the “Celebrate Family. Celebrate Life” tag gives it away a bit. For the uninitiated, or for those who weren’t really paying much attention, the ad may have come off as slightly confusing; Pam Tebow notes that her son is special, and, well, that’s about it.
I’ll have to watch the ad a few more times to really process it, though as commenter Woodsey pointed out, the subtle nature of the ad may work in the organization’s favor:
This is incredibly effective. It works because it’s so tame making the protests feminist groups/people made against look like the hysterical rantings of an abortion-loving minority. I can’t help thinking that is exactly what was intended.
Focus on the Family was able to dominate a news cycle with stories regarding the ad, with controversy brewing and expectations being raised ever higher as the day of the actual airing arrived. And now that the ad’s been delivered, in spite of all of the intense debate that went on regarding its airing, we’re left with a fairly vague, very cutesy ad that presents Focus on the Family as a sweet, good-natured group that’s had to battle the raging masses just to present the story of a mother and a son (along with an anti-choice message) on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s an interesting tactic—we’ll have to see how it plays out with the public.
Update: The second ad has aired as well. Watch it here.
