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Let All Super Bowl Ads Advocate

David Zirin argues for a Super Bowl chock-full of advocacy ads.

The Rachel Maddow Show

February 5, 2010

Rachel Maddow take on Tim Tebow’s anti-choice ad that will air during the Super Bowl this Sunday. Maddow airs a response ad made by Planned Parenthood featuring two former professional athletes advocating for women’s right to choose. Nation sports editor David Zirin tells Maddow that the Planned Parenthood ad–which will not air during the Super Bowl–is “too little too late” because Planned Parenthood should have been demanding equal time from CBS.

Zirin argues that all ads are advocacy ads, including commercials promoting a lifestyle of bikinis and beer, and US military ads that have aired during past Super Bowls. “If we’re going to have this kind of advocacy–the pro-bikini or pro-armed forces advocacy–then I think we should throw the doors open,” Zirin says. “And CBS has been profoundly contemptible…this ad is ridiculous, and it should not be on Super Bowl Sunday without some kind of response.”

–Morgan Ashenfelter

The Rachel Maddow Show


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