America is a nation divided when it comes to abortion, so when former NFL star Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam, tackled abortion in their 2010 Super Bowl ad, it sparked strong debate.
The ad was a 30-second clip created by the Christian organization Focus On the Family, and in it, Pam shared her pregnancy story with Tim. She called him a "miracle baby" and said that she was "not sure that he was going to make it," which implied her choice against abortion.
In fact, USA Today even listed as one of the "most controversial Super Bowl ads of all time." The publication wrote: "The above ad, featuring college football star Tim Tebow, didn't mention abortion. But it reminded people that Tim Tebow's mother, Pam Tebow, was advised to abort him. And that made some people very angry."
One of those people is Jehmu Greene, president of the Women's Media Center. She reprimanded CBS "for inserting an exceedingly controversial issue into a place where we hope all Americans will be united, not divided." But in response, the network insisted that the ad was "appropriate for air."
Despite the negative feedback towards the ad, Pam said during D.C.'s 45th March for Life last Friday that she has no regrets about the ad. Pam even said that the criticism only generated more attention to their message, according to News Busters. "But, thanks to our noisy opponents, and the ever present media [around the Super Bowl], the message got out," she said.
Christian research firm, The Barna Group, believes that the Super Bowl ad managed to convince around 5.5 million people to re-examine their thoughts about abortion.
