Football Controversy Fumbles

In the upcoming weeks until the Super Bowl, there was much hype surrounding a Focus on the Family Super Bowl advertisement that featured Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. Word got out that it would be a blatant anti-abortion ad, and women’s groups such as the National Organization for Women were infuriated. Once Super Bowl-time came around, the ad aired, but there were no references to abortion. All the built up resentment toward the ad fizzled once people saw what others complained about.

The irony of the whole debacle was that no one who protested the ad before it aired during the Super Bowl had actually seen the ad yet. The whole controversy was based on rumors, assumptions, and speculations. Focus on the Family is grateful, however. FOTF assumed that the ad would simply air during the Super Bowl, and that would be it. Those who protested the ad in the weeks before the Super Bowl brought much attention to the ad, meaning that more people would then know about it. This was especially useful in promoting the second part of FOTF’s 2-part message. The ad itself promotes celebrating family (a fitting theme hence the name “Focus on the Family”) and then refers viewers to FOTF’s website, where they can see additional material explaining how mother Pam Tebow’s medical condition prompted doctors to suggest that she get an abortion and her reasons for refusing.

The controversy about the ad reiterates the risks and benefits of advertising. A major fact to remember is that no one knows what will sell. No one knows what people will like or not like. People were immediately drawn to this ad because they thought it talked about abortion when it actually talked about celebrating family. Also, in this case advertisers risked spending a chunk of money on ads that people may forget or not notice. Fortunately for FOTF, the risk was worth it because protestors brought more attention to the ad. They fought against an anti-abortion stance, yet they ended up promoting it (indirectly, of course, since the ad itself did not mention abortion, but it referred people to the website that did talk about abortion). This is evidence of the unpredictability of advertising – even seemingly bad news can turn into good news.