Freethought & Rationalism Archive

shome42 · 06-08-2003, 03:57 PM

Has anyone ever seen them? Do they exist? Are there any T.V. channels that would actually air them?

I think there need to be atheist commercials. They should not use the word "atheist" or or be overtly antagonistic, but they should make people doubt. Sort of like public announcement reminding people to think.

If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would certainly fund a few of these commercials. But I don't think one wealthy individual should finance them. I think that an atheist organization should set up a specific commercial fund and collect donations.

The purpose wouldn't be to convert, per se. It would be more of an outreach program to draw in closet or inactive atheists, thereby empowering the atheist political voice in America.

What you guys think? Any ideas for commericials?

RawData · 06-09-2003, 09:21 PM

Commercial Idea:
(from old cliche' of atheist = theif)
Lady drop purse on the sidewalk while pre-occupied with something else (conversation, walking dog, whatever).
Another person (man or woman) sees it happen, picks up the purse, and chases the lady down to give it back.
Lady says "Oh! God bless you!"
Answer, "Oh, no thank you, I'm an Atheist. But have a nice day!"

Probably needs punching up a bit....

Just the first thing that came to mind.
Later,
RawData

EverLastingGodStopper · 06-10-2003, 08:21 AM

Go to: http://atheistviewpoint.tv/

Note: I should be doing this myself. In fact, this post is a little reminder that I need to find out who my local "public access channel" provider is, contact them, sign up to be a sponsor of 'Atheist Viewpoint TV', and then DO IT.

To be a "Sponsor" of American Atheist's 'Atheist Viewpoint TV,' one has to commit to ensuring that the tapes are provided to your local public access show channel, and use your real name. No cash is required.

You can email Joe Zamecki directly: jzamecki@atheists.org (and tell him that I sent you)

FINE... I'll get up from my computer and take care of this now. You guys are so helpful, reminding me of my GodStopping duties. I'm still new to this whole "South Jersey Regional Director" thing; better get to steppin'.

-Janice Rael
jrael@atheists.org

Toto · 06-10-2003, 11:30 AM

Several freethought organizations in California have had public access shows. Unfortunately, the impact of these has been pretty low.

The religous right has prospered because Pat Robertson and his ilk have been geniuses at getting people to send them money through their television programs. ("God will return this money to you eight fold!")

Some of the mainline churches have turned to advertising. I saw an ad for the Methodist Church that was really well done - an attractive woman who mused about how she now had responsibility for a young child and needed all the help she could get, followed by the slogan "Open doors, open minds, open hearts".

But no one in the freethought community has raised the money or adopted the techniques of modern communication and marketing. I think that's what the OP is looking for.

I can envisage a series of ads for "your friendly village atheist", showing what a good guy he (or she) is, returning lost wallets, breaking up gangland fights between the Christian gang and the Muslim gang, telling kids that there are no monsters under their beds, and god is just Santa for adults. . . . well maybe not that, you can't attack Santa on TV

Seeker630 · 06-12-2003, 05:32 AM

About the closest I've seen for skeptical PR is the Unitarians. I belong to a UUA congregation here in the Venice area. The Southwest Florida cluster of UUA fellowships recently ran a series of ads on NPR, as sponsor to some of their programing.

"This prgram made possible by..........(several sponsors), and the Unitarian Universalist Congregations of Southwest Florida, with locations in"..........yadyadyada.

This would also make a good possiblilty for other secular organizations to get their names on the air, maybe PBS too. In addition, I would think that NPR and PBS would be a lot less likely to reject such a spot in the 1st place.

Just a thought.

Grumpy · 06-12-2003, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RawData
Lady says "Oh! God bless you!"
Answer, "Oh, no thank you, I'm an Atheist. But have a nice day!"

Pardon me for dampening the brainstorm, but I think this might be worse than no commercial at all. While dispelling the stereotype of the immoral atheist, it would reinforce the stereotype of the in-your-face jerk atheist.

I'd offer constructive criticism, but I simply can't envision atheist commercials akin to the LDS "Family, it's about time" spots. Failure of my own imagination, I guess.

clark · 06-12-2003, 05:44 PM

FFRF produced a couple of thirty second commercials in the 80s, and no station would run them. They were ok, but not exactly Madison Avenue.

The freethought community has not had the money to produce professional tv shows or commercials, and pay for the spots. There has been talk of pursuing this by various groups, but so far nothing has come from it.

As for public access, I've seen various public access freethought/atheist shows. Some I've found interesting; and some I've found embarrassing. All came across as amateur. Public access is one of those things that, because it has no real barrier to entry, is not highly regarded. Most people who view public access only do it for the "freak show" aspect, other than those already active in atheist. The shows can be fun to produce, but don't do much as for effective outreach as far as I can tell.

THOUGHTfully Yours,
Clark

Ensign Steve · 06-12-2003, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Toto
[B]Several freethought organizations in California have had public access shows. Unfortunately, the impact of these has been pretty low.

Do you have any times and channels? Or even just names, so I can find them in the TV guide myself.

shome42 · 06-12-2003, 10:57 PM

Yes, Austin has atheist public access T.V. shows also, but as Clark pointed out, public access gets no respect. It's mostly just a freak show.

I don't get it. Atheists make up like 10% of the population, do they not? Why have they not been able to organize and do anything other than protest???

Protests do not change public opinion. They only agitate people especially when the media represents them to be wackos, or worse, doesn't even report about them at all.

Why leave our public image to the media and to stereotypes? Let's get our image out there on our terms. Let's get some commericals, ads or something.

This cannot be a problem of money. There are enough atheists in America who want to and would fund projects like this. Is this a problem of organization?

Toto · 06-12-2003, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ensign Steve
Do you have any times and channels? Or even just names, so I can find them in the TV guide myself.

In San Francisco, Ray Romano (now deceased) produced a cable access program called "Religiously Incorrect". I don't know what has happened to that slot. I have a video tape of some segments, and the one on faith healers is a riot.

In Long Beach, there is a long running program called STUN (Superstition, Talking Snakes, Unjust Taxes, and Nonsense). My Atheist United newsletter says it is on Charter Cable in Long Beach, Channels 69 or 95, Friday at 8:30.

There was another series produced under the title "Food for Thought Productions" but I don't know it's status.

06-08-2003, 03:57 PM	#1
shome42 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 1,001	Atheist Commercials Has anyone ever seen them? Do they exist? Are there any T.V. channels that would actually air them? I think there need to be atheist commercials. They should not use the word "atheist" or or be overtly antagonistic, but they should make people doubt. Sort of like public announcement reminding people to think. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would certainly fund a few of these commercials. But I don't think one wealthy individual should finance them. I think that an atheist organization should set up a specific commercial fund and collect donations. The purpose wouldn't be to convert, per se. It would be more of an outreach program to draw in closet or inactive atheists, thereby empowering the atheist political voice in America. What you guys think? Any ideas for commericials?

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06-09-2003, 09:21 PM	#2
RawData Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Puget Sound, WA, US Posts: 1,022	Commercial Idea: (from old cliche' of atheist = theif) Lady drop purse on the sidewalk while pre-occupied with something else (conversation, walking dog, whatever). Another person (man or woman) sees it happen, picks up the purse, and chases the lady down to give it back. Lady says "Oh! God bless you!" Answer, "Oh, no thank you, I'm an Atheist. But have a nice day!" Probably needs punching up a bit.... Just the first thing that came to mind. Later, RawData

06-10-2003, 08:21 AM	#3
EverLastingGodStopper Banned Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 16,665	Go to: http://atheistviewpoint.tv/ Note: I should be doing this myself. In fact, this post is a little reminder that I need to find out who my local "public access channel" provider is, contact them, sign up to be a sponsor of 'Atheist Viewpoint TV', and then DO IT. To be a "Sponsor" of American Atheist's 'Atheist Viewpoint TV,' one has to commit to ensuring that the tapes are provided to your local public access show channel, and use your real name. No cash is required. You can email Joe Zamecki directly: jzamecki@atheists.org (and tell him that I sent you) FINE... I'll get up from my computer and take care of this now. You guys are so helpful, reminding me of my GodStopping duties. I'm still new to this whole "South Jersey Regional Director" thing; better get to steppin'. -Janice Rael jrael@atheists.org

06-10-2003, 11:30 AM	#4
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Several freethought organizations in California have had public access shows. Unfortunately, the impact of these has been pretty low. The religous right has prospered because Pat Robertson and his ilk have been geniuses at getting people to send them money through their television programs. ("God will return this money to you eight fold!") Some of the mainline churches have turned to advertising. I saw an ad for the Methodist Church that was really well done - an attractive woman who mused about how she now had responsibility for a young child and needed all the help she could get, followed by the slogan "Open doors, open minds, open hearts". But no one in the freethought community has raised the money or adopted the techniques of modern communication and marketing. I think that's what the OP is looking for. I can envisage a series of ads for "your friendly village atheist", showing what a good guy he (or she) is, returning lost wallets, breaking up gangland fights between the Christian gang and the Muslim gang, telling kids that there are no monsters under their beds, and god is just Santa for adults. . . . well maybe not that, you can't attack Santa on TV

06-12-2003, 05:32 AM	#5
Seeker630 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: North America Posts: 1,624	About the closest I've seen for skeptical PR is the Unitarians. I belong to a UUA congregation here in the Venice area. The Southwest Florida cluster of UUA fellowships recently ran a series of ads on NPR, as sponsor to some of their programing. "This prgram made possible by..........(several sponsors), and the Unitarian Universalist Congregations of Southwest Florida, with locations in"..........yadyadyada. This would also make a good possiblilty for other secular organizations to get their names on the air, maybe PBS too. In addition, I would think that NPR and PBS would be a lot less likely to reject such a spot in the 1st place. Just a thought.

06-12-2003, 05:44 PM	#7
clark Beloved Deceased Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sin City, NV, USA Posts: 3,715	FFRF produced a couple of thirty second commercials in the 80s, and no station would run them. They were ok, but not exactly Madison Avenue. The freethought community has not had the money to produce professional tv shows or commercials, and pay for the spots. There has been talk of pursuing this by various groups, but so far nothing has come from it. As for public access, I've seen various public access freethought/atheist shows. Some I've found interesting; and some I've found embarrassing. All came across as amateur. Public access is one of those things that, because it has no real barrier to entry, is not highly regarded. Most people who view public access only do it for the "freak show" aspect, other than those already active in atheist. The shows can be fun to produce, but don't do much as for effective outreach as far as I can tell. THOUGHTfully Yours, Clark

06-12-2003, 10:57 PM	#9
shome42 Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 1,001	Yes, Austin has atheist public access T.V. shows also, but as Clark pointed out, public access gets no respect. It's mostly just a freak show. I don't get it. Atheists make up like 10% of the population, do they not? Why have they not been able to organize and do anything other than protest??? Protests do not change public opinion. They only agitate people especially when the media represents them to be wackos, or worse, doesn't even report about them at all. Why leave our public image to the media and to stereotypes? Let's get our image out there on our terms. Let's get some commericals, ads or something. This cannot be a problem of money. There are enough atheists in America who want to and would fund projects like this. Is this a problem of organization?

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