AUSTIN, TEXAS, May 14, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-life media organization has launched a media blitz aimed at young black women who are considering abortion.
Heroic Media began airing a new commercial entitled “Ultimatum” last Tuesday. It will play more than 60 times during May and June on Black Entertainment Television (BET) and gives viewers a toll-free phone number that will connect them with crisis pregnancy centers and other life-saving resources.
The TV spot features a black woman sitting on a set of stairs as she tells women, “So, this pregnancy wasn’t planned. It’s gonna be OK, really.”
The ad contrasts the unquestioning love of a child with the fickle affections of a boyfriend who gave his child’s mother an ultimatum: “It’s me or the baby.”
“A baby is a life you created, a baby that will love you and need you in return,” the wmoan says as a wide-eyed, cherubic child slides down the steps to snuggle at her left side.
It concludes by encouraging women who need help to call 1-866-866-2484 or text HELP4U to 95495.
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“We’ve run this ad in the past and really seen a great response,” Marissa Gabrysch, who oversees Heroic Media’s marketing and communications strategies, told LifeSiteNews.com. “We’re constantly refining and changing details of the ads to make sure they are compassionate, clear, and effective in inviting a woman to reach out and find the help that she needs.”
This is Heroic Media’s fourth national ad campaign in two years. Its national outreach efforts – including national and local television campaigns, radio, and pay-per-click advertising – have connected 146,000 women with life-saving prenatal care in 2011.
The ad buy will give the pro-life media organization access to 5.5 million women in the targeted 18-34 demographic.
“We focus on creating messages that speak to all kinds of women,” Gabrysch told LifeSiteNews. “Right now we are excited about this as a particular way to reach a portion of the population that is disproportionately affected by abortion.”
Although blacks are 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 30 percent of all abortions. In New York City, 60 percent of all black unborn are aborted. Some 14.5 million black babies have been aborted since the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion in 1973.
Day Gardener, president of the National Black Pro-Life Union told LifeSiteNews.com young black people need to hear that “we don’t have to kill our children to be successful or educated.”
Heroic Media is trying to bring that life-affirming message to all America’s enclaves. The group aired a Spanish-language commercial aimed at Hispanic women, “Podemos Ayudar” (“We Can Help”), on Galavision, Univision, and other national Spanish-language networks.
MTV rejected a version of the ad last year. However, the network had no objection to its content, and Gabrysch is hopeful they will be able to work together in the future. “We’re working to get back on MTV, because that is another place where a lot of our target audience is,” she told LifeSiteNews.
“We want to reach all women who are facing unexpected pregnancies,” she said.
The commercial “Teen Angst” featured a blonde teenager faced with the same ultimatum, who feels pressured to abort. It aired on MTV, Bravo, TLC, ABC, and the CW.
Television ads are just one part of the firm’s outreach.
Thousands of women have had their lives changed because of its pay-per-click advertising on the internet. “Research shows that the internet is the first place where the majority women turn for their information about their options when they are facing an unexpected pregnancy,” Gabrysch said. “We want to be there on the internet, reaching women where they are and when they need us.”
To assist their efforts, you can visit their website, HeroicMedia.org, or contact Marissa Gabrysch at 512-354-2888.
A transcript of “Ultimatum” follows the video.
Transcript:
So this pregnancy wasn’t planned. It’s gonna be OK, really. So your baby’s daddy gave you an ultimatum: “It’s me or the baby.” Come on, that’s not real love. A baby is a life you created, a baby that will love you and need you in return. There are people that will help you and services available. Call this number of send a text. You don’t have to do this alone.