Tim Tebow, James Dobson team up for Super Bowl ad. This can't end well
Jan 20, 2010, 5:00 PM EDT
Sure Super Bowl commercials are fun, but don’t you wish they came with a little more controversy? You’re in luck, because one of the country’s most polarizing religious figures is teaming with our most rock-jawed amateur quarterback to bring you a TV ad sure to spark debate at your Super Bowl get-together. Dr. James Dobson, the founder of the Group Focus on the Family who once denounced SpongeBob SquarePants for being gay, is joining forces with Florida All-American good-guy quarterback Tim Tebow to produce a 30-second spot to air during the Super Bowl. Exactly what the ad is about is not clear, but CBS has “approved the script,” and assured people that it “will not carry a pro-life message — at least an overt one.” Um, OK.
Tebow and his mother are to be featured in the ad. We all know that Tebow is extremely religious, but to throw in with Dobson — one of the most radically conservative, controversial and polarizing figures in politics — is a bit jarring. As SportsbyBrooks points out in a post today, Dobson is well-known for his on the record opposition to abortion, gay marriage and homosexuality.
But the bigger controversy here may be CBS’ inconsistency in approving Super Bowl advertising.
Part of the concern for the approval of an ad from a group fronted by Dobson is that in 2004, CBS rejected a Super Bowl ad produced by the United Churches of Christ. CBS Executive Vice President Martin Franks said at the time, “The network simply does not accept any advocacy advertising of any kind.”
CBS also refused to air two other Super Bowl ads that year; anti-George W. Bush ad by the group MoveOn.org, and an ad from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
A larger issue though is Tebow generating awareness for a group with a well-chronicled, aggressive anti-gay agenda. An agenda that is often interwined with political interests.
You may remember Dobson from such hits as: “(Homosexuality) will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.”, and, “Reach out to homosexuals; bring them to Jesus.” More on Dobson here.
And here: Also in 2004, Dobson talked before members of Congress at a black tie dinner in Washington, denouncing SpongeBob. Keith Olbermann’s MSNBC column:
(Dobson) advised the group that SpongeBob had been included in a pro-homosexual video which was to be mailed to thousands of elementary schools to push a tolerance pledge by kids, including tolerance of differences of what Dr. Dobson called “sexual identity.” Dr. Dobson said most of the favorite cartoons of America’s kids were in on the plot, Barney and Jimmy Neutron included.
And now Tebow has hitched his wagon to Dobson’s star. The concussion problem in college sports is real, people.
***
CBS Gives OK To Focus Super Bowl Spot [Media Post]
Will SpongeBob make you gay? [Countdown with Keith Olbermann]
Tebow Fronts Group Known For Anti-Gay Agenda [SportsbyBrooks]
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- JStal - Jan 21, 2010 at 10:25 PM
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You know, I was fine with the ad when I heard it was just him. I really don’t mind people expressing their anti-choice views. It’s one thing to try to persuade others concerning their personal choices, but it’s quite another when they try to legislate their beliefs.
It is too bad that Tebow chooses to associate himself with an individual and an organization that is both intolerant and activist in limiting the rights of other individuals. People should be allowed to make their own choices. I wish he would reconsider because I think this reflects poorly on him. I can’t help but think Tebow is being used as a means for Dobson to get airtime during the Super Bowl.
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- Paul in KY - Jan 22, 2010 at 11:28 AM
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Hey JR, am I wrong in saying the Phillipines is 99.999% Catholic? Maybe I went one too many decimal points. Hows this: ‘The Phillipines is 99.99% Catholic’.
Just because a small band of people on one or two tiny islands among the hundreds in the Phillipines is waging a ‘Muslim Holy War’ against whatever doesn’t change the fact that the vast majority (almost the whole nation) is Catholic.
What are Mr & Mrs Tebow doing over there? The people are already Christian (by my take). Problem is, from Mr. Dobson’s (and I guess the Tebow’s) take, Catholics are not Christian & must be ‘saved’.
I don’t like the parents of Timmeh, because they are fake Christians (IMO) who bray about their holiness like the Pharisees of old (read your bible about them, Jesus commented on them a few times). Timmeh, I don’t much care for because he was at UF & I am a UK (and a Miami) fan & we hate the Gators as a general rule.
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- Joel - Jan 22, 2010 at 2:17 PM
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It’s always fun to read others’ stance on this subject. I suppose the article wasn’t necissarily meant to stir the pot on “religious views… etc”, but rather to condemn CBS’s inconsistency in national airing approvals. Either way, I’m intrigued to read everyone’s stance on the matter. As a quick response to Paul in KY, I’m not one to push the gospel on others, and I don’t think Tebow’s parents are either. There are different stances on Catholicism(liberal, traditionalists, charasmatic, ultratraditionalist, ect…) and not each one is “saved” by Biblical standards…. this being a personal relationship with Christ. Sometimes it’s even a more difficult missionfield if you’re trying to minister to “religious” people.
Ultimately, God wills everything to happen for his own good… we don’t understand what that is, or how that is, but “…the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it…” I’m done for now!!
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- James - Jan 26, 2010 at 10:40 AM
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So lets see… Janet Jacksons breasts is broadcast all over national TV… NOW says nothing. Bill Clinton takes advantage of his power over female workers under him… NOW says nothing. Beer ads during EVERY Super Bowl displaying women in ways that would make any true feminist go ballistic…. NOW says nothing. But a non-profit group raises private funds to get a pro-life ad on during the Super Bowl and NOW’s true agenda shines forth.
