Written by J. Bennett Guess    
Wednesday, 05 April 2006  

Several prominent cable networks, which last year gave a green light to the UCC's national advertising campaign, have now backed away from that decision and are refusing to air the church's newest TV commercial.

Nearly all of those cable networks now refusing the "ejector" ad are owned by either NBC Universal or Viacom (which operated CBS until this January) -- two companies that last year rejected the UCC's "bouncer" ad as "too controversial" for its major broadcast networks. The earlier denials provoked an uproar from church members and media advocates alike.

Now, network rejection has gone cable, with at least nine UCC-preferred networks now unwilling or unable to allow the 1.3-million-member church's paid advertisements because of parent-company policies.

Ron Buford, director of the UCC's Stillspeaking Initiative, described the networks' rejection as "heartbreaking."

"This is `sorry, cable trouble' all over again," said Buford, who is African American, harkening back to the 1950s when some television stations refused to run network news that positively portrayed the Civil Rights Movement.

"There could not be a more concrete example of what happens when our media is in the hands of a few corporate elites who simply don't agree with you. They can simply turn you off. Click, goodbye," said Buford, who insists that the UCC's commercials are neither "political" nor "advocacy," but a sincere attempt by the church to address the oft-ignored feelings of rejection and alienation that many people say they have experienced from organized religion.

Two NBC-owned networks -- USA and Telemundo -- cited the parent company's policy as the basis of their decisions.

"Unfortunately, NBC standards & practices has rejected this spot and it is not approved to air on USA Network," according to a USA network e-mail dated March 27, the same day the UCC's ad was unveiled at a press conference in Cleveland.

Similarly, on March 30, Telemundo responded: "Not Approved. Following NBC Universal policy, we are not accepting the referenced United Church of Christ commercial."

Nick@Night and TV Land, two Viacom-owned networks that twice aired the UCC's ads in December 2004 and March 2005, have now turned down the church's most-recent attempts to purchase air time.

"After screening the spot ... we must decline as our guidelines state we will not accept religious advertisements that take a position on controversial issues or may be deemed as disparaging to another religion," according to a company statement on March 31.

Several other networks, including MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Bravo and the lesbian/gay-oriented LOGO network are also among those owned by Viacom or NBC now deemed off limits to the UCC, since it has become clear to church officials that the cable outlets are lining up behind parent companies' decisions.

"I just wanted to let you know that currently [Viacom-owned] MTV Networks commercial standards & practices cannot accept this `Ejector' spot from United Church of Christ because of the political nature of its content," according to a sales associate's e-mail response on March 30.

Two semi-independent networks -- Discovery and Univision -- have also declined the ad.

Not all cable networks, however, are refusing the ad. ABC Family, a cable network owned by ABC/Disney, has accepted the ad even though its principal broadcast network has refused it, citing a blanket policy against religious advertising.

Others cable networks that have accepted the ad include A&E, AMC, BET, CNN, CNN Headline, Hallmark, History, TBS, TNT, E!, Lifetime, Si-TV, and Azteca America.

A spokesperson for Gotham Inc., the UCC's New York-based advertising firm, said his agency followed standard procedures for purchasing network air time and described the cable channels' decisions as "out of the ordinary."

"The UCC had every reason to expect these orders to be confirmed," Gotham's Bob Adler told United Church News. "The [rejecting] networks' sales reps were willing to negotiate in good faith and did so to the point where the program schedules were put `on hold' [pending final approval from the buyer], a step that shows serious intent by both parties to complete the deal."

Given past rejection from broadcasters, Gotham did seek early pre-approval of the new ad from the major networks. CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and WB summarily rejected it. However, given past acceptance by cable networks and the current tenor of ongoing sales negotiations, Gotham never considered it plausible that cable channels would turn down the UCC's ad.

"Our UCC forebears -- the Congregationalist Pilgrims, the frontier Christians, the German Evangelicals, the freed slaves -- they would rise in judgment if we didn't resist this," Buford said.

The "ejector seat" commercial begins with a shot of an African-American mother trying to calm a crying baby. Sitting in a church pew, the mother fidgets anxiously, as she endures disapproving looks from fellow worshippers. Eventually, someone in the wings pushes an "ejector" button to rid the church of her -- and her noisy baby. Into the air they go flying.

In similar fashion, a gay couple, an Arab-American, a person using a walker, among others, get "ejected." Finally, when a homeless person wanders in and takes a seat, nervous parishioners -- expecting she'll get the boot for sure -- scoot away from her.

The commercial ends with a mood shift, where shots of diverse, friendly people set the stage for the announcer's invitation: "The United Church of Christ -- no matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here."