The True genius of the Tebow Super Bowl Ad

Now that we've seen it, what in the world was all the fuss about? It brilliantly revealed the irrational and reactionary nature of the pro-abortion movement.

SPRING LAKES, MI (Catholic Online) - Pam and Tim Tebow's much publicized Focus on the Family ad finally aired Sunday night during the Super Bowl. Pro-abortion activists can offer a free breakfast deal--there is enough egg on their face to feed the nation.

Hearing their rhetoric these last few weeks, this ad was supposed to be some extremely dangerous propaganda piece--the ad was attacked as "offensive to women," "political" and "anti-abortion rights," and many feminist groups militantly called on CBS to cancel it as if it were a threat to national security.

Now that we've seen it, what in the world was all the fuss about?

As is now well known, Pam Tebow rejected doctors' advice to abort Tim, and the family has long shared their story in advancing the pro-life cause. Yet not only was the word "abortion" never spoken in the ad--the procedure itself was never even referred to.

Pam called Tim her "miracle child," and simply said she "almost lost him" and that was hard--without ever saying how she could have lost him. She went on to say that even though Tim is grown up she still worries about his health. The spot ended with Tim appearing to tackle her, and joking about how tough she is. An invitation then appeared on the screen for anyone who may be interested in learning about the Tebows' story to visit Focus on the Family's web site.

That was it. If you want to know the details of their story, log on. If not, thanks for watching.

The true genius of this ad--and its effectiveness--became apparent only after it crossed millions of television screens across America. Whether deliberately or not, Focus on the Family and the Tebows efficiently employed a strategy known well by any good poker player--a good bluff wins you all the chips.

All they had to do was announce this was a pro-life ad, featuring a famous woman who chose life for her child, and they knew what would come out of the woodwork: the venom, the condemnation, the vitriolic calls to cancel the ad or boycott CBS if they didn't--all over a 30 second spot where a woman simply says she almost lost her baby.

It brilliantly revealed the irrational and reactionary nature of the pro-abortion movement. Whether or not it was intentional, it worked.

I am reminded of Gilda Radner's "Emily Litella" character from the early days of Saturday Night Live. Emily would appear on the Weekend Update segment and go on a rant about a topic she had misheard and misconstrued. When advised by the news anchor of her misunderstanding, Emily would sheepishly reply: "Oh, that's very different...never mind!"

Thank you Focus on the Family and Pam and Tim Tebow for helping the pro-abortion movement put yet another foot in its mouth. I hope the rest of the nation noticed.

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James Penrice is a contributing writer for Catholic Online and the author of numerous books. He is also a writer for the Catholic Athletes for Christ website. Fr Peter Gallagher of the Colts is Catholic Athletes for Christ NFL Ministry lead Chaplain.

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