The Salty Peanut Gallery

CBS has been in the hot seat recently for their Super Bowl ad selections and rejections. Feminist women’s organizations such as the Women’s Media Center, NOW, Feminist Majority and others were outraged, dare I say hysterical, over the decision to air a Focus on the Family Pro-life ad featuring University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. Also troubled by an apparent CBS bias was the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) who were demanding an explanation Friday after CBS declined to air a commercial that would promote the gay dating Website ManCrunch. While many of us loudly applaud CBS for their stand, one can’t help wondering why. Why have they chosen to anger liberal extremists while catering to conservatives? What is the real reason behind these advertising decisions?

The consequences have been significant. The Women’s Media Center has organized a Campaign for Women’s Health Care against CBS and the NFL to stop the Tim Tebow “anti-choice” Super Bowl ad. They claim that one week into their campaign, over two hundred thousand emails have been sent to CBS, the NFL, and their advertisers protesting the airing of the ad. According to Jehmu Greene, president of the Women’s Media Center and former head of Rock the Vote, “This campaign will continue through the Super Bowl as multiple organizations mount boycotts and protests.” It’s worth noting that in response CBS has made a last-minute offer to air a counter ad by a reproductive rights organization.

Pardon me, but could someone please explain how an ad celebrating a mother’s decision not to abort a child who would later grow up to become a Heisman Trophy winning football hero is “anti-choice”? Isn’t life a choice? Or could it be that when feminists like Ms. Jehmu Greene use the word “pro-choice” what they’re really mean is there’s only one choice, abortion, making life the “anti-choice”.

As for the backlash within the gay community this latest controversy is not the first time that CBS has been under fire. CBS received a “failing” grade in the annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index as the only broadcast network to post a significant decline in its primetime depictions of LGBT people on television. Apparently CBS saw the greatest decline among the broadcast networks, dropping to last place in “LGBT-inclusive” content. In addition GLAAD released a statement in November 2009 complaining about a double standard when CBS The Early Show blurred Adam Lambert’s same-sex kiss at the American Music Awards. GLAAD also took issue with anti-gay commentator Ann Coulter appearing on the show.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Yes! Finally we’re getting somewhere. Finally we’re winning the culture war. Finally we’re making a difference in the world. Oh, really? Well here’s an eye opener that’ll leave you scratching your head. Of the five commercials submitted by the domain hosting site GoDaddy.com, often known for its racy ads, there was one ad not approved for the Super Bowl. It featured a “big, flamboyant, effeminate, lovable man” launching a carrier in fashion design. That ad was nixed. On the other hand one of the four ads CBS does plan to air is what Go Daddy claims could be its “hottest ever” ad. Oh, and let’s not forget about the $500,000 fine handed down by the FCC for the infamous Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show, which by the way CBS is still fighting in court. “Smutty ads and halftime performances are, of course, nothing new during the Super Bowl, despite the fact that in countless homes the game is a family event with children of all ages watching,” says Morality in Media president Robert Peters.

So this brings us back to the original question. Why? Why this? Why now? Is it the Tea Party movement? Is it a resurgence of conservatism? Or is it maybe because the executives at CBS are nothing more than a bunch of homophobes? Who knows? One thing I do know. Money is always involved. For whatever the reason the powers that be have determined that airing a Tim Tebow ad that promotes the choice for life is profitable enough to warrant the backlash from the feminist and gay community. Ads promoting a gay lifestyle are apparently not profitable enough to warrant the potential firestorm that would ensue from the conservative community. Or put another way, how many more viewers who ordinarily care nothing about NFL football are likely to tune in to see the very popular, very conservative, very Christian Tim Tebow featured in a Focus on the Family ad during the Super Bowl? You do the math.