Mancrunch vs. Focus on the Family

by Michael Jones · 2010-01-28 10:04:00 UTC
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MancrunchThink CBS regrets its decision to air an advertisement by Focus on the Family during the Super Bowl? Given the hoopla surrounding Focus' ad -- an expected anti-choice message delivered by University of Florida football standout Tim Tebow -- you have to wonder if CBS knew they were brewing a recipe for disaster.

Groups around the country, from the United Church of Christ to GLAAD to the Women's Media Center, have blasted CBS for accepting an advocacy advertisement from the disturbingly anti-gay Focus. But now CBS finds itself in another pickle -- can they let an ad for Focus on the Family run during the Super Bowl, and not let an advertisement by a gay dating Web site run?

That's the choice they'll have to face, since gay dating site Mancrunch has decided to put forward an advertisement for CBS' Super Bowl consideration. If Focus can have a football star talk about abortion, can Mancrunch have an ad where two dudes touch hands and kiss?

It's definitely important to note that Mancrunch is a business, not an advocacy organization like MoveOn (which had an ad rejected by CBS), or PETA (Ditto). Mancrunch is also not a progressive religious organization, much like the United Church of Christ (which had a pro-LGBT ad nixed by the network a few years back).

Mancrunch is a business, so even if CBS does accept the group's commercial, it's still not a mea culpa for giving Focus on the Family free reign where other similar advocacy-oriented groups were shown the door. But it does put CBS in a perilously prickly situation.

The ad from Mancrunch is bound to get right-wing knickers in a bind. "The 30-second spot shows two men excitedly watching the game, before their hands brush as they both reach into a bowl of chips. Suddenly, the two begin making out, much to the shock of a guy sitting close by," reported Fox News.

Of course, is there anything controversial about two men kissing? Straight people kiss all the time on television, right? And hey, abortion is a controversial issue too, but CBS is accepting an advertisement that touches on that.

Oh, and to add a cherry on top of all of this, CBS has already accepted an advertisement with two men kissing. It was from Snickers, a few years back.

What's it going to be CBS? Meanwhile, if you haven't taken action yet to urge CBS to nix the Focus on the Family advertisement because of its advocacy angle, tell them now to pull the plug on the ad.

Photo: Mancrunch

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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