After a pair of knuckle-biter games, the New York Giants and New England Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl means something different to everyone. For some, it’s the pinnacle of sports. For others it’s a time to pig out on junk food and wait for commercials.
This year, the price for a 30-second ad spot during the big game was $3.5 million and with prices running that steep, we’re sure to be in for some good stuff. But for every movie teaser and heartwarming mini-Vader Volkswagen spot, we’re bound to see an ad that’s just plain bad, and sometimes downright offensive.
This year, leading the charge in controversial ads is Randall Terry, a pro-lifer and little-known Democratic presidential candidate. Terry’s campaign ad will show pictures of aborted fetuses in order to illustrate what’s happened under “Obama’s policies” and will run in Oklahoma, Colorado, Kentucky and Missouri. The FCC generally doesn’t allow ads to run such graphic material, but networks aren’t allowed to alter candidate ads, so it’ll run as is.
No matter where you fall on the pro-life/pro-choice spectrum, Terry’s ad seems unnecessarily gruesome and I don’t see the point of it at all. Airing in places like Oklahoma and Kentucky seems pointless as Terry will just be preaching to the choir.
Those states already lean pro-life so there isn’t much to accomplish in running the ad there. It’ll reinforce their beliefs, sure, but abortion rights are such a hot-button issue, there’s no way to be in-between. You either believe women have the right to abortions or you don’t.
But, consider the alternative. Running a graphic pro-life ad in California wouldn’t accomplish much either. California is considerably more liberal than states in the Midwest.
A far left Democrat isn’t going to see an ad like Terry’s and change his or her beliefs. There would maybe be some controversy at first, but eventually we’d forget about it and move on.
People have strong opinions on both sides of the issue and a 30-second ad isn’t going to sway them either way. Abortion rights aren’t like soap. You can’t sell someone an opinion on the issue. It’s too complex and emotionally charged to change your beliefs so easily.
You can’t convince someone that one opinion is better than the other. We all have our reasons for why we believe women should or should not be able to have abortions and there’s not much that can change that.
As Californians, we won’t see the ad during the game and I guess that saves us from any potential controversy and drama the ad will cause. I don’t consider myself someone who gets offended easily, but using images of aborted fetuses is going a little too far.
I will admit running this ad during the Super Bowl is a great idea for the basically unknown Terry. Using a shocking commercial for the year’s biggest audience is a great way to get your name out there and make people remember you. But, there’s nothing to be gained from using shock-tactics to prove your point.
Alexis Reza is a senior journalism major and opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
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