wfn.org | United Methodist Times Square ad offers Thanksgiving hope

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 13, 2003 News media contact: Linda Green7(615) 742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org7 ALL {554}

By Linda Green*

The people moving through New York's Times Square during the Thanksgiving
season will now be able to see the United Methodist Church's message of
welcome and reconciliation on an electronic billboard.

Beginning Nov. 17, the denomination's television advertisement, "The Gift,"
is scheduled to run 10 times daily on the 7,000 square foot central billboard
of the Reuters and Instinet building. The ad will continue through Nov. 30.

The Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive with the denomination's communications
agency announced that after all of the controversy surrounding religious
advertising on the Reuters' electronic bulletin board, the message of hope,
faith and reconciliation is back on its original schedule.

After United Methodist Communications signed a Sept. 23 contract to display
the $30,000 commercial, Reuters rejected the message because they said it
violated its policy against advertising that is predominantly religious or
political.    The agreement was made between UMCom and a Toronto-based
outdoor advertising company.  

Once the policy was made public, United Methodist officials expressed concern
about not being given the same access and equitable treatment as a company
that serves alcohol or other products.	Other religious groups issued
statements supporting the right of religious organizations to speak in the
public marketplace.

Reuters' London-based chief executive Thomas H. Glocer then reversed the
company's policy. "Your proposed advertisement and the evolution of our
business has given us cause to reconsider our position," Glocer wrote to
Hollon.

The international media giant will now allow faith-based advertising as long
as the commercial include a prominently placed disclaimer showing that it is
"paid advertising."

Hollon is pleased that "The Gift" will be on the billboard during this season
of gift-giving and at a time of high traffic in the Times Square area. But,
he also expressed disappointment in Reuters' disclaimer requirement of "paid
commercial advertisement, which is unlike any of the other advertisers on the
board, signaling out our ad for distinction."

The disclaimer placed on church advertising shows that faith-related
commercials are still treated differently from the other forms of commercial
speech that Reuters accepts, he said. 

"People who see a beer advertisement and are sophisticated enough to know
that it is not endorsed by Reuters would be sophisticated enough to
understand that Reuters is not endorsing a religious message as well," Hollon
added.

Still, he considers the Reuters' policy reversal a victory for the church and
believes the action indicates "our argument that we ought to at least be
allowed to advertise is reasonable."  

Diversity is important, Hollon said, and "as we protect the diversity of
opinions in the society, a victory like this is really a victory for
democratic free speech in the commercial marketplace."

UMCom officials believe that the message of the church should be in a public
venue such as Times Square to provide an alternative to commercialism and
point out that life is about the caring for others and giving of ourselves. 

"Life is not simply about getting and spending," Hollon said. "Life can be
measured by how we care for each other and how we nurture each other. That is
why it is important that this message be in this place at this time."

The church's message of hope, faith and reconciliation is one that will
respond to the hunger that people are facing and their need for a connection
with others. "People are searching for a way to fill the hole in their soul
that is not being filled by material goods.  This message speaks to that
need," Hollon said.

The United Methodist television commercials appeared on 17 national cable and
broadcast networks earlier this fall. The advertisements are a major
component of Igniting Ministry, the denomination's four-year $20 million U.S.
media campaign. The denomination has 10 million members worldwide. 

# # #
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer in Nashville, Tenn.
UMNS, the news agency of the United Methodist Church, is a unit of United
Methodist Communications.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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