Banned By Networks Gay Ad Wins Award

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon05/11/112805ucc.htm

A television ad that was banned by NBC, CBS and UPN has won a prestigious national advertising award.

The commercial, produced last year for the United Church of Christ, was aimed at attracting gays and others who feel alienated by other denominations. (story)

The 30-second spot features two muscle-bound "bouncers" standing guard outside a picturesque church and selecting which persons are permitted to attend Sunday services. Written text interrupts the scene, announcing, "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." A narrator then proclaims the United Church of Christ's commitment that: "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."

CBS told the denomination that because the ad implies the acceptance of gay and lesbian couples it violated network standards. Viacom, which owns CBS also owns UPN. NBC declared the spot "too controversial." The ad also was refused by ABC. (story)

[Jella]

1. Glad to hear it.

:applause:

[unpossibles]

2. awesome.

I look forward to the day we can all have differing beliefs and still get along.

[displacedtexan]

3. Great news!

Everyone, and I mean everyone, needs to see that commercial!

[shenmue]

4. Tolerance is *against* standards?

Funny, because some of those channels have run shows with gay characters.

And we don't want any of that 'love your neighbor' stuff going around. :sarcasm:

[Sapphocrat]

10. Gay characters...

...of the neutered, "safe" variety, of course.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. If this ad violates network standards (an oxymoron if I ever

heard one) why don't shows that openly portray gay and lesbian individuals such as Will and Grace, Survivor and others violate the same standards?

[swimmernsecretsea]

6. This television ad was a winner of 16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, 2005

16th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Presented by Absolut Vodka in San Francisco, June 11, 2005.

The Award: Outstanding Advertising - Electronic: "Bouncer" United Church of Christ (Accepted by: the Rev. Toni Dunbar, City of Refuge United Church of Christ in San Francisco)

Link: http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=3820

I had the honor of congratulating the Rev. Toni Dunbar as she was leaving the event at Fort Mason. Her acceptance speech was simple, beautiful, and reminded me of why we honor people who do these things to make all of our lives better and safer.

[pro_blue_guy]

7. Good for them!

Cleveland is the world headquarters for the United Church of Christ and so northern/eastern Ohio was a test-market for the commercial when it first came out. It was aired on the local network television stations (I saw it numerous times on WUAB - Channel 43 - UPN as a matter of fact, and on another station which its name escapes me right now). Anyhow, the commercial was very uplifting for me! :)

[TaleWgnDg]

8. Take note, folks, who awarded and who produced these accolades . . .

.

This month the ad was hailed by the Association of National Advertisers which awarded the UCC its 2005 Multicultural Excellence Award.

The commercial beat out MasterCard and Microsoft for the award.

. . . snip . . .

The commercial was produced by Gotham Inc. of New York City.

. . . snip . . .

The ad also has won an Addy Award for best single national spot and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s outstanding advertising award.

The UCC has a long reputation for welcoming gays and lesbians. Although its individual churches are mostly autonomous, many offer blessing services for same-sex couples. In 1972 it became the first mainstream denomination to ordain an openly gay man.
.
. . . more at . . . http://www.365gay.com/Newscon05/11/112805ucc.htm

I raise this issue of who awarded and who produced the pro-gay television advertisement because it's a rare occurrence today. Perhaps these companies should be googled and thanked.
.

[NMMNG]

9. I saw that ad on tv a few times

I loved it. I think the real reason the networks didn't want to run it is because they feared the backlash from all of the other churches who would protest, as the ad points out how discriminatory their attitudes are. Guilt can make people vicious.