NBC Sacks Super Bowl Ad Celebrating Life's Potential

Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org said there was "nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement."

CHICAGO, Illinois (Zenit) - An ad that promotes the potential of all life will not be shown on NBC during the Super Bowl on the grounds that it involves "political advocacy or issues."

After several days of negotiations, an NBC representative in Chicago advised CatholicVote.org on Wednesday of it's decision not to run an ad that features President Barack Obama and concludes with the tagline, "Life: Imagine the Potential."

Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org said there was "nothing objectionable in this positive, life-affirming advertisement."

He then noted the irony that while NBC refused their ad for being advocacy-based, an ad of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- an advocacy group -- was rejected because it depicted "a level of sexuality exceeding our standards." The organization was then given a detailed list of edits that would make the spot acceptable.

"NBC claims it doesn't allow advocacy ads, but that's not true. They were willing to air an ad by PETA if they would simply tone down the sexual suggestiveness," said Burch.

"The purpose of our new ad is to spread a message of hope about the potential of every human life, including the life of Barack Obama," said Burch. "We are now looking at alternative venues to run the ad over the next several weeks."

The ad aired on BET in Chicago on Inauguration Day. It has become an Internet hit with over 700,000 views in seven days. The ad was in the top 10 "most viewed'" category on YouTube on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.