Instant messaging
By Lisa Fabrizio
web posted January 21, 2008
In my ever-frustrating attempts to view TV sports events without having to cover my eyes, plug my ears and empty my brain of all adult moral content, I encountered a new low this weekend. During the NFL playoffs here in the New York tri-state area, I was treated to a mind-numbingly awful new ad from New York State Lottery that eloquently advises, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't ba-da bling!"
Much like NFL broadcasts themselves, the ad featured scantily clad ‘dancers'--emphasizing their assets in the way so cherished by sports fans of all sexes and ages--and black, gang-banging, rap ‘artists' mumbling the praises of acquiring "ba-da bling" via the auspices of the lottery system. However, in a repulsive nod to the hopefully passé "Sopranos" craze, the rappers are joined onstage by a motley group of overweight thugs who I am forced to assume must be Americans of Italian descent. Two major ethnic groups stereotyped at once; truly a modern marketing jackpot!
This group of miscreants--who, much like all state lottery scams, suck the lifeblood out of the poorest elements of our society--is apparently, to the New York state nabobs, representative of that to which we should all aspire; gilded bodies committed to sex and violence with minds full of mush. No doubt the spot was inspired by the DirecTV "Upgrade" ad in which Beyonce, who, between bouts of writhing in ecstasy on a pile of bling, also sports a huge golden charm reading "upgrade" in her mouth, lest we fail to grasp the deep symbolism of her message to teenage girls: this is the way you should behave in order to achieve what's truly important in life.
Americans are constantly ambushed by TV commercials and even sports broadcasts that seek not only to corrupt the morals of our children and ourselves, but are often drenched in liberal doctrine. But what if equal time was given to the other side? Can you imagine the outcry if, instead of unintentionally hilarious attempts at ‘greening' us all, such as NBC tried a few months ago, another network aired productions in support of drilling for our own oil in Alaska and the gulf coast, or encouraging the unthinkable; development of nuclear energy strategies like those in Europe?
How about instead of anti-smoking crusades such as that waged literally ad nauseam by our friends in the state of New York against those who freely choose to use a legal product, we got some glimpses of the equally behavior-driven ravages on the human body wrought by the AIDS virus? Or instead of over-dramatizing cruelty to animals we had some graphic video of partial-birth abortion? But of course these images will never see the light of day in the mainstream TV world, a world that seeks to conform the nation to its own agenda.
Probably most emblematic of this is the campaign of Planned Parenthood (caution, view these You Tube videos at your own risk) to promote physically ‘safe' but morally ruinous lifestyles on our children. Perverting what is good and truly natural--that conjugal love, open to procreation is not a danger one needs ‘protection' against--these ads, which air on youth-oriented channels like MTV and VH-1 and encourage homosexual acts, teach that 'protection' should be one's only concern during a happy life of rampant promiscuity.
And lest our kids have any outdated religious notions that would preclude them from enjoying this glorious existence, one of their ads features two guardian angels of "safe sex" who advise a young gal in the process of initiating a sexual romp to seek after ‘protection'. After securing the proper response from her lover, the girl mews a happy "Amen," while one of the angels tells the other that she is "pretty hot." Explains a Planned Parenthood chaplain, "I love the fact that this ad challenges popular conceptions of religion and sexuality."
So the next time the family snuggles down on the couch together to root on the home team, or your kids invite some friends over to watch the latest videos; beware. It's not just the program content that may be hazardous to their health, but the commercials also. 
Lisa Fabrizio is a columnist who hails from Connecticut. You may write her at mailbox@lisafab.com.