By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
WASHINGTON, DC, May 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new pro-life video produced by CatholicVote.org as part of its series of “Life: Imagine the Potential” ads has received “initial acceptance” for broadcast during the closing episode of the 'American Idol' TV program.
Announced by EWTN's Raymond Arroyo at Friday's National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, the second in the series of ads promotes adoption by highlighting famous people who were themselves adopted.
The video features quick glimpses of celebrities such as Babe Ruth and John Lennon, and luminaries such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Nelson Mandela, and asks rhetorically what all these have in common. The answer “Adopted” is given in the last frame.
The first “Imagine the Potential” ad, later dubbed the “pro-life Obama ad,” showed an ultrasound of a baby in the womb, while text explains that during his life the baby’s father will abandon him, and his single mother will struggle to support him. But “despite the hardships he will endure,” the ad continues, “this child will become the 1st African American President.” The ad climaxes with a picture of President Obama and the slogan, “Life. Imagine the Potential.”
The first ad was broadcast on Black Entertainment Television in Chicago during its Jan. 21 coverage of the presidential inauguration, viewed hundreds of thousands of times online, and was also initially accepted for broadcast during this year’s Super Bowl game, but was later rejected by both NBC and CNN. (To see the ads go to https://www.catholicvote.org/)
CatholicVote.org is a project of the Fidelis Center for Law and Policy, an organization founded in 2008 to educate Americans on the “critical issues in the public policy arena.”
Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.com, pointed out that “our ad is making people stop and think. We are convinced that we can make a big difference with this ad campaign.”
“We must remember that being right isn't enough. We must find new methods and new ways to express the eternal truths, to new audiences. We are seizing this historic moment with a powerful message to defend the sanctity of human life,” concluded Burke.
See related LSN articles:
Pro-life Obama Ad Viewed over 250,000 Times in Three Days
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012209.html
NBC Rejects Super Bowl Pro-Life Ad Featuring Unborn Baby Obama
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012905.html
CNN Rejects Life-Affirming Obama Ad – 2nd Major Network to Do So
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09022012.html