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Planned Parenthood's new "Mile High Club" advertisements

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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Thought this was interesting, not necessarily in a good way.

Planned Parenthood Entices Teens with "Mile High Club"
By John Connolly

SAN FRANCISCO, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG) has aired a new commercial featuring a stereotyped gay man showering teens with condoms and contraceptive pills aimed specifically at 18 to 24-year-olds.

The ads, aired on MTV, VH-1, Comedy Central and TLC, are set to a "Mile High Club" theme, where Stephen, a flagrantly stereotypical gay man "educates" the teenage passengers about 'safe sex' by shoving contraceptives at them. At the end of the commercial, Stephen sits on the pilots lap and hits on him.

"PPGG created this campaign to stress the importance of sexual health in a creative way and one that breaks free from the old ineffective paradigm of relying on fear-mongering tactics to inspire desired behavior changes," said Dian J. Harrison, PPGG's President and CEO in a press release. "We want young people to take control of their sexual health and well-being by using prevention every time they have sex. This ad's message normalizes pregnancy prevention and safer sex in a healthy, cool, and humorous way."

The commercial, which will run through February 2008, is the latest in a series of raunchy sex-obsessed commercials aired by the heavily-tax-funded PPGG and aimed subverting at teens and young adults.

In early 2007, PPGG made a commercial that showed a sloppy-looking male angel eating popcorn at the head of the bed watching a couple having sex. Then his female angel counterpart appeared imploring him to do something. The male angel uses a TV remote and rewinds the scene of the couple in bed. This time the woman asks her male partner if he has any protection, to which he exclaims, "Yeah, of course." The woman responds, "Amen!"

In 2006, PPGG produced a spot depicting a young woman working with power tools who later hops into bed with a man, selects items from a Planned Parenthood "safe sex" tool case and exclaims, "Nice tool!"

"The organization's shameless promotion of its attempts to influence teenagers with a morally reprehensible TV spot is just another reason why all taxpayer funding of the group should be yanked immediately," said Jim Sedlak, executive director of American Life League's STOPP International.

According to PPGG's 2006 tax return, $12.2 million of its $22.1 million budget comes from taxpayer sources by means of fees and contracts from government agencies.​
 

alaska120

Mayor McCheese
SUPER Site Supporter
The last line was like fingernails on chalk board. (for those of us that remember REAL chalk boards...)
 

California

Charter Member
Site Supporter
You think that one's bad - a while back there was a fuss about Ca Dept of Corrections' campaign to promote condoms for gay sex in the state prisons to fight AIDS. They engaged an advertising agency - no doubt from San Francisco - to produce a comic book showing gay prisoners flirting (both depicted as very attractive according to gay people who saw the comic), then the theme shifted to promotional stuff like your example. The title was something like Hot Sex in Tier Nine.

Its author responded to the inevitable criticism saying that nothing but a bold theme was going to get the attention of those idiots, since prisoners tend to not believe anything that comes from official sources. We never heard if the comic continued to be issued.

Bob, abstinence training works for some target audiences. Not for all. Have you watched MTV recently? How long since you were 17 years old? Don't overlook that most peoples priorities have likely shifted some then since that age - when some teenagers can't think about anything but getting laid. And they think they are invincible, they never consider the consequences. Meanwhile AIDS and taxpayer supported welfare babies continue.
 

Melensdad

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Staff member
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I never suggested 'abstinence' or any other form of sex-education/training was good or bad, but that doesn't mean that I find this type of advertising in any way acceptable.

As for watching MTV, no, I don't. I have no illusions about the amount of sex on TV, or the influence of popular culture on our kids. Heck my daughter went to the movies this past weekend with one of her girlfriends and the other girl had arranged to meet a boy. Basically my daughter was used as a 'cover story' and was pissed, the other girl and the boy sat in the back row of the theater to make out. My daughter said the boy backed down. Honestly I think there is more to sex-ed than 60 second TV commercials with kids getting condoms tossed at them. Some of the education must be description and biologically accurate, some of it must be based on the values of the family and taught by the family. If some of it is also faith based, that is just an added bonus. I don't think either extreme (giving out condoms or teaching pure abstinence) works without the other components. I don't think providing birth control to children who don't understand the consequences works either (and there are plenty of child pregnancies to prove that point).

I was actually reading a story in my daughter's newest issue of SEVENTEEN magazine about unintended pregnancy just this week. One of the girls, now age 18 with a baby, has been having sex with her boyfriend since age 12. All the girls in the story used some form of birth control (condoms, patches, pills). None used it correctly, all admitted they didn't fully understand how to use it correctly.

That said, no slick TV campaign, with 60 seconds of humor, could ever possibly teach our children about the consequences of sex. By the way, here is the ad, courtesy of YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU6lBe47fhQ
 

California

Charter Member
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A little Googling indicates that the organization quoted (American Life League) is opposed to all forms of birth control. What's left to slow AIDS and fatherless babies aside from abstinence? Neutering? The human body, in fact all life that isn't extinct, is programmed to reproduce. Civilization channels that, but not always successfully.

We may find the message offensive but I think the battle has to be fought in some form to slow down AIDS and fatherless babies. The kids at risk are the ones who aren't being taught anything at home so somebody has to reach them. I wish there were a better way. I don't think the battle should be abandoned.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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I'm not a big fan of the A.L.L. either, I just thought the Planned Parenthood ad was interesting and somewhat troublesome. I see no reason to debate the positions of the A.L.L. just because they were mentioned in the article because it strikes me that groups like that can only see their vision of birth control work in a highly faith based society, something that doesn't exist in many places.

But A.L.L.'s beliefs were probably cited simply because they are the polar opposite of Planned Parenthood's beliefs. Seems to me there is plenty of middle ground where common sense can mix with practical application.
 

irwin

New member
~ snip~ Seems to me there is plenty of middle ground where common sense can mix with practical application.

I agree Bob, I've been wondering for years. Seems common sense is only a phrase now, it doesn't exist except in individuals, rarely in the media, never in politics. :coolshade :argueing: rather brag or bad mouth each other.

My son is so different from so many other 22 year olds, he works full time and is going to college full time. He took the job so he could ease the financial burden of his parents, I told him to just finish school, but he's a proud, yet grateful young man who wants to be his own man. He promises to finish school and get his degree and if he can't with the job, he'll let me pay for it. I'll gladly help.

He watched MTV and VH1 but the attitude didn't take.:respect:

Lots of tasteless stuff out there, hopefully by my underlining respect, manners, charity, and urging him to make up his own mind and not be part of the pack helped in some small way.
uh oh, here I am bragging, oops.:pat:
 

California

Charter Member
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... hopefully by my underlining respect, manners, charity, and urging him to make up his own mind and not be part of the pack helped in some small way.
You did good. Your kid will do fine. I'm sure Bob is raising his kid just as well. And I'm proud that mine have turned out ok.

The kids I'm worried about are the ones you see having dinner at Mcdonalds because Mommy didn't plan far enough ahead to make dinner for them at home and suddenly its dinner time, so off they go to Mcdonalds. As those kids hit maturity they aren't going to plan ahead to prevent pregnancy, they'll just take their chances when urge meets opportunity. Instant teen parents, and the process repeats for another generation. I don't want to pay taxes to support their kids. I would rather see the effort go toward delaying that first pregnancy.

Yes, I think it is in the interest of all of us to use tax funds to get that message out. It isn't pretty but its necessary when no one else has a positive influence on those kids.
 

fogtender

Now a Published Author
Site Supporter
The problem is as we get older our values change as well as the meanings that meant something totally different 30+ years ago....

When I was 18, getting "Lucky" was something totally different than now.

Getting "Lucky" now, is when I get the house and remote to myself....:thumb:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Yes, I think it is in the interest of all of us to use tax funds to get that message out. It isn't pretty but its necessary when no one else has a positive influence on those kids.
I agree with most of what you wrote but have some serious trouble with this portion. I see nothing good coming out of the Planned Parenthood ad that I linked. It basically sends a message that there are no consequences as long as you use a condom. But condoms break. Further they don't stop AIDS, they only slow it down. The ad is not teaching kids about the consequences, only that there are no consequences and that free sex is perfectly OK as long as you use a condom.

What about the emotional damage and regret associated with free sex that many women seem to experience later in life? What about the trauma of the abortion on both women and men? The ad is slick, its cute and fun. It downplays the responsibility of having sex to a trivial manner and basically says al you need is a condom and everything will be just fine and dandy.

Not a message that I want to send with my tax dollars. Sex, pregnancy, AIDS and other S.T.D.s are far more complicated that that.
 

California

Charter Member
Site Supporter
I'm not going to defend that particular message. It sounds like it was written to fit into the fast paced, MTV short-attention-span environment. I would like to see these kids absorb a more thoughtful, values-oriented lesson. But if you are going to reach the bunch that will flip channels in an instant when the tempo isn't quick enough, I don't know how else you would grab their attention. I'll bet they remember, even discuss, that pitch.

Now we need an ad writer who can write more thoughtful stuff but with equivalent impact. Maybe they could blend their message into a Tracy(?) Spears half hour special or something.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm not going to defend that particular message. It sounds like it was written to fit into the fast paced, MTV short-attention-span environment. I would like to see these kids absorb a more thoughtful, values-oriented lesson. But if you are going to reach the bunch that will flip channels in an instant when the tempo isn't quick enough, I don't know how else you would grab their attention. I'll bet they remember, even discuss, that pitch.

Now we need an ad writer who can write more thoughtful stuff but with equivalent impact. Maybe they could blend their message into a Tracy(?) Spears half hour special or something.

How about an approach that is more family oriented, like this one that is popular in the Catholic faith, especially among the Hispanic Catholics. It incorporates the child and the parents and discusses the issues of chastity, self respect and responsibility.
Ritual Provides Chance for Lessons on Faith, Family, Sex
By Eric Gorski
Associated Press
Saturday, January 12, 2008; Page B09

On the day she is to become a woman, Monica Reyes sits in front of the church for Mass. Her white dress -- sewn in her mother's Mexican home town -- spills over her chair like an oversized lampshade.

The priest urges her to live as a daughter of God. Her parents give her a gold ring shaped like the number 15. Near the end of the service, Monica lays a bouquet of roses before a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Then she steps through the worn, wooden doors of St. Joseph's, a Roman Catholic parish attended by generations of poor, Hispanic immigrants, and into a 20-seat white Hummer limo that rents for $150 an hour.

Before long, a stretch Lincoln Town Car arrives for the next quinceañera Mass.

An elaborate coming-of-age ritual for Hispanic girls on their 15th birthday, the quinceañera has long been divisive in the U.S. Catholic Church, where it's viewed as either an exercise in excess or a great opportunity to send a message about faith and sexual responsibility.

The latter view won an important endorsement last summer when the Vatican approved a new set of prayers for U.S. dioceses called Bendición al cumplir quince años, or Order for the Blessing on the Fifteenth Birthday.

In the Archdiocese of Denver, Hispanic ministry leaders view the quinceañera not just a chance to strengthen faith and family but as a weapon against teen pregnancy.

Before Monica could get her quinceañera Mass, she and her parents had to enroll in a four-week curriculum that combines Catholicism 101 with a strong pro-chastity message.

"Some girls come to the class expecting to be taught how to dance," said Alfonso Lara, the archdiocese's Hispanic Ministry coordinator.

The girls in Reyes's class gathered in a stuffy room with a map of Mexico on the wall and a crucifix on the table.

One lesson included tips for safe dating (avoid Internet dating sites in favor of group outings in public places such as the mall or family barbecues). Then there is an explanation of the difference between simple abstinence (a way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases) and chastity (living like Jesus and Mary).

Monica Reyes is the model pupil. Once her quinceañera is over, the high school junior her sister calls a "girl's girl" will be allowed to go to parties and date, as many of her classmates do. But Reyes isn't eager to join them.

"I'm still too young," she said. "I could have a bad experience. So I'd rather wait."

"Even now, immigrant parents don't talk to their young daughters about sex," said Timothy Matovina, director of the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the University of Notre Dame. "There is not an open conversation going on about the value of waiting till marriage or the economic pitfalls of becoming a single mother."

The Reyes family does not attend Mass regularly but would never consider the quinceañera legitimate without the blessing of a priest. A portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe watches over the living room of the family's apartment.

"The reason to have the Mass is to be blessed, and to say thanks to God," said Monica's mother, Luz.

Later, Monica wiped away tears as she danced with her grandfather.

On the dance floor, she changed from flat shoes into heels, signaling her departure from childhood.

Her first meal as a woman was a bowl of beans washed down with strawberry soda.

"The big thing isn't to have a party," Monica said. "It's that you're going from a little girl to a woman. You're thanking God you have been in this world for 15 years."​
 
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