aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Gay network rejects pro-gay ad
I posted when ABC rejected the ad; now the network that promises “Programming that reflects our lives. Programming that tells our stories.” has rejected the United Church of Christ’s inclusive message:
Logo, a TV channel catering to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, is now among the growing list of networks to reject an ad in which a gay couple and other minorities are seen being “ejected” from church pews, followed by a welcoming message from UCC. A Viacom-owned network, Logo is operated by MTV, which states that its standards and practices could not accept the 30-second commercial “because of the political nature of its content,” according to a sales associate’s e-mail response to UCC on March 30.
When pressed by the church for an official reason, MTV Networks responded, “Our guidelines state we will not accept religious advertisements that may be deemed as disparaging to another religion.” “I guess the idea of gay TV doesn’t really mean it’s your community’s network,” Ron Buford, director of the UCC’s Stillspeaking Initiative, told United Church News. “It’s just something that’s targeted at you to sell product.” [!!!]
Even though at least 17 broadcast and cable networks have rejected the “Ejector” ad, it has been accepted and is running during April on several others, including: A&E, AMC, BET, CNN, CNN en Español, Headline, Hallmark, History, TBS, TNT, E!, Lifetime, SiTV, and Azteca Americ.
The ad is featured on the UCC’s media action Web site. Visit today.
Via PageOneQ.
