Shwicaz
06-12-2005, 05:15 AM
Remember a few months ago, all that hoopla over 'Postcards from Buster'? because the show showed a young girl who had 'two mommies', the show became a lightning rod of controversy and debate.
The show's producers argued that the show did not show anything racy, sexual, or inflammatory to young viewers, but the show was pulled off of many stations due to its content.
Family groups and certain members of the government spoke out about the issue, and got lots of press time speaking out about this 'evil' show, and how great it was that some affilliated decided not to air this show to 'protect the children'.
NOW, a commercial promoting the 'abstinence only' message, sponsored by a Catholic Social Services Program called ACTION (which stands for Abstinence Challenging Teens in Our Neighborhood) is having their ad pulled from some local cable stations here in Boston.
And the funny thing is, their arguments for wanting the commercial aired, are the SAME arguments that were dismissed by these groups when gay parents spoke out about having the PBS show taken off their stations.
Ironic, isn't it?
FALL RIVER -- A television ad urging teenagers to abstain from sex has been deemed inappropriate for young children by some networks on Comcast Corp. cable television and will not be seen on several channels geared to younger viewers.
The spot, sponsored by the Catholic Social Services program, ACTION, which stands for Abstinence Challenging Teens in Our Neighborhood, was supposed to run on cable stations in seven communities in southeastern Massachusetts. An official with Comcast said the decisions were up to the individual networks and not the cable company.
''The ad was deemed appropriate for some networks," said Dana Runnells, a senior marketing manager for Comcast Spotlight, the company's advertising division. She said she did not know the reasons.
During the 30-second spot, phrases about sex pop up on a black screen and are read aloud by teenagers.
''There's no racy language or images," said Liz Isherwood, whose public relations agency put the spot together. ''I don't understand the decision, and neither does Catholic Services."
Isherwood said the advertisement encourages self-respect. The phrases displayed on the screen include ''I thought I would feel like a man" and ''I thought she was using protection."
It ends with the phrase: ''Before you decide to have sex, do some serious thinking and take ACTION. Care enough to wait."
Isherwood said the ad has been running on the radio, and she has not received complaints about its content.
Runnells said all ads are judged against internal company standards, including profanity and taste, and then are reviewed by the individual networks, which decide whether the spots will appear on their channels.
''We review every ad on a case-by-case basis for compliance with internal standards and network guidelines. We make sure that [the ads] are appropriate for the audience," she said.
Comcast officials were concerned that the ad might be seen by children in the 6- to 9-year-old range.
Requests for comment left in telephone messages at ACTION in Fall River yesterday were not immediately returned
My favorite part of the article:
''There's no racy language or images," said Liz Isherwood, whose public relations agency put the spot together. ''I don't understand the decision, and neither does Catholic Services." Isherwood said the advertisement encourages self-respect.
Isn't that the same reason that the people who objected to catholic and family groups pulling the 'kids show that showed gays in a positive light' used. And weren't they laughed at by Catholic and Family groups for just such reasoning?
And now, that their ad is being pulled, they come up with the same exact reasons they riduculed other people for using.
The show's producers argued that the show did not show anything racy, sexual, or inflammatory to young viewers, but the show was pulled off of many stations due to its content.
Family groups and certain members of the government spoke out about the issue, and got lots of press time speaking out about this 'evil' show, and how great it was that some affilliated decided not to air this show to 'protect the children'.
NOW, a commercial promoting the 'abstinence only' message, sponsored by a Catholic Social Services Program called ACTION (which stands for Abstinence Challenging Teens in Our Neighborhood) is having their ad pulled from some local cable stations here in Boston.
And the funny thing is, their arguments for wanting the commercial aired, are the SAME arguments that were dismissed by these groups when gay parents spoke out about having the PBS show taken off their stations.
Ironic, isn't it?
FALL RIVER -- A television ad urging teenagers to abstain from sex has been deemed inappropriate for young children by some networks on Comcast Corp. cable television and will not be seen on several channels geared to younger viewers.
The spot, sponsored by the Catholic Social Services program, ACTION, which stands for Abstinence Challenging Teens in Our Neighborhood, was supposed to run on cable stations in seven communities in southeastern Massachusetts. An official with Comcast said the decisions were up to the individual networks and not the cable company.
''The ad was deemed appropriate for some networks," said Dana Runnells, a senior marketing manager for Comcast Spotlight, the company's advertising division. She said she did not know the reasons.
During the 30-second spot, phrases about sex pop up on a black screen and are read aloud by teenagers.
''There's no racy language or images," said Liz Isherwood, whose public relations agency put the spot together. ''I don't understand the decision, and neither does Catholic Services."
Isherwood said the advertisement encourages self-respect. The phrases displayed on the screen include ''I thought I would feel like a man" and ''I thought she was using protection."
It ends with the phrase: ''Before you decide to have sex, do some serious thinking and take ACTION. Care enough to wait."
Isherwood said the ad has been running on the radio, and she has not received complaints about its content.
Runnells said all ads are judged against internal company standards, including profanity and taste, and then are reviewed by the individual networks, which decide whether the spots will appear on their channels.
''We review every ad on a case-by-case basis for compliance with internal standards and network guidelines. We make sure that [the ads] are appropriate for the audience," she said.
Comcast officials were concerned that the ad might be seen by children in the 6- to 9-year-old range.
Requests for comment left in telephone messages at ACTION in Fall River yesterday were not immediately returned
My favorite part of the article:
''There's no racy language or images," said Liz Isherwood, whose public relations agency put the spot together. ''I don't understand the decision, and neither does Catholic Services." Isherwood said the advertisement encourages self-respect.
Isn't that the same reason that the people who objected to catholic and family groups pulling the 'kids show that showed gays in a positive light' used. And weren't they laughed at by Catholic and Family groups for just such reasoning?
And now, that their ad is being pulled, they come up with the same exact reasons they riduculed other people for using.