MTV pulls pro-life ad
MTV pulled out recently a pro-life media campaign advertisement, allegedly due to a partnership that the network has forged with Planned Parenthood.
Heroic Media, a faith-based nonprofit group, created the pro-life campaign. The ad, called We Can Help, is about the unplanned pregnancy of a young woman. It then provides a link for women to pro-life centers, according to Heroic Media’s website.
The ad was slated to be aired on May this year. However, MTV announced to media on May 5 that it will pull out the ad–one day before it officially notified Heroic Media, its website said.
Heroic Media said on its website that a sales representative from MTV told them the decision was made by the network’s president, Stephen Friedman. Last month MTV, in partnership with Planned Parenthood, featured the promotion “Get Yourself Tested,” which came out on the websites of both companies.
MTV “was in the works with doing a partnership with Planned Parenthood and different opportunities with PSA’s when [Friedman] decided that he did not want to run Heroic Media on MTV,” according to the website.
Controversial billboard
An MTV spokesman told Daily Mail that the ads were pulled out because of Heroic Media’s ties with a controversial billboard that was run by the group, Life Always.
The billboard says, “The Most Dangerous Place for an African-American is in the Womb.” It was placed in Times Square in New York City, but was taken down last February due to a wave of protests of racism, Daily Mail said
Bill Eisner, president of Nonbox which represents both Life Always and Heroic Media told the Daily Mail that there were no racist intentions behind the billboard, and that it was based on statistics from New York City’s Health Department.
Eisner also told Daily Mail, regarding Heroic Media, “’We were told that it was a conflict with some of the promotions that were in the works with Planned Parenthood and MTV.”
Recent tactics
MTV’s Jeannie Kedas said, “Upon further review, it was hard for us to separate some of the recent tactics of the organization [Heroic Media] behind the ads themselves, so we have opted to not accept them for air at this time,” Daily Mail reported.
Heroic Media said on its website that the pro-life ad had been run by MTV since May 2010.
Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortions in the U.S., reportedly performed performing over 332,000 abortions in 2009 (including affiliates).
Heroic Media, according to its website, aspires to reach women who are unexpectedly pregnant through media, including billboards, the internet and television.
The website says, “They don’t judge her. They let her know there are countless hopeful solutions.”
It states that on places where its ads have been placed, abortion has gone down by 20 percent.
In the past, there had been complaints raised against MTV for ‘glamorizing’ pregnancy when it aired the reality program, 16 And Pregnant.