The National Organization for Marriage commercial, perfect FUD, and bonus audition out-takes.

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and advertising. Bear with me, I know we all sell the product on the best of its virtues, and nobody in advertising aims to be dishonest really, there are even a whole bunch of laws that keep advertisers in line so we can't say something idiotic like beer makes you lose weight, but when it comes to political propaganda in the United States, that's a whole 'nother ballgame. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM - as in nom nom nom, that cracks me up right there) have created this fabulous piece of perfect propaganda. As any attentive ad student knows, the best tactic in propaganda is to spread FUD, and this one does it in spades. Watch

.Lets break that down, shall we? "I'm part of a NJ church group punished by the government because we can't support same-sex marriage..."

You are The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association which is a religious ministry, not a church, and you have a large chunk of beach and boardwalk which you've obtained an exemption from state property tax for by arguing that it is open to the public.
When a you denied a civil union ceremony to be held there, the courts slapped your hand because you can not restrict access public land, it has to be open to everyone or it's not public. Ya dig?
Had it been private land, it would have been a whole different ballgame, think about that next time you file for your $500,000 annual property tax exemption for having public land.

"I'm a California doctor who must choose between my faith and my job..." Last year Guadalupe Benitez wondered - when does freedom to practice religion become discrimination? She took her question to court, after having been refused treatment on religious grounds, and you can see the courts ruling here (pdf).
In conclusion: Do the rights of religious freedom and free speech, as guaranteed in both the federal and the California Constitutions, exempt a medical clinic’s physicians from complying with the California Unruh Civil Rights Act’s prohibition against discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation? Our answer is no. T

his case was about artificial insemination, not marriage. If the doctor had religious objections to treating people of other faiths, would you sympathize?

"I'm a Massachusetts parent helplessly watching public schools teach my son that gay marriage is OK..." They mean David Parker - the dad that was arrested for refusing to leave his sons school until they agreed to not show his son books like ''Who's In a Family?" by Robert Skutch. The book does not discuss gay marriage but different family structures such as a lioness and cub, the single father and children, grandma and her grandchildren, couples and their pets, two moms and their child, etc.
The rights of parents to raise their children does not include the right to restrict what a public school can teach the children. In school they may learn about the big bang theory, which may contradict the parent's religious beliefs. They will learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where hippie-words like brotherhood are thrown around and no person should be subject to discrimination is the main point.
This does not violate the parents First Amendment right to exercise their religion, and a judge has even said so in an earlier case about a safe sex (AIDS) education film being shown in public schools. David Parker's appeal to the supreme court was denied (pdf):
 "In essence, under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy. Diversity is a hallmark of our nation." "My freedom, will be taken away..." Because if you go outside you'll catch the gay amirite? "But we have hope.. A rainbow coalition of people of every creed and color are coming together....." Rainbow what? Right, now your writer is just messing with you guys. Do not miss the bonus inside - the auditions for this commercial!

 

Auditions for marriage lie ad from End Marriage Lies on Vimeo.

That audition tape is officially the worst I have ever seen, and I've auditioned fashion models for speaking parts. (zing!)

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caffeinegoddess's picture

FAIL!
Love your breakdown of this crap. The news people have picked up on this and it's sad this pathetic piece of propaganda is even being acknowledged.

Dabitch's picture

Aye. The whole rainbow LOVE hijack sent me over the edge. I'm grateful for the audition tape because, oh my god, is that ever hilariously sad. Trouble finding actors who can read, guys? Also, guy number four looks like Dumbo caught in headlights. Guy number seven sounds like my Mac.

Neo's picture

Miss Monotonous (#8) amuses me to no end.. "I am a California.... Doctor". When I think it can't get worse, #9 shows up looking a lot like a chicken.

xanaxanaxa's picture

NOM has had the audition videos pulled from youtube. Here is another link to them. Lets hope Vimeo has more balls than youtube: http://vimeo.com/4060459

Dabitch's picture

Thanks, I put the vimeo embed in the post.

kaliganges's picture

Sadly, it looks like the Vimeo link has gone too. However, there have been some fantastic remixes of the ad, found here (feat the Weathergirls) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5HQ2fOUYws and here (50s-style horror flicks) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Na83zbo4qY - oh the horrors!

Dabitch's picture

The horrors one cracks me up!

buzlightning's picture

I made a video response to the NOM ad that finds interesting similarities with the NOM ad and images the KKK used in the 1920s to promote antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, and nativism.

Please take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYtr6-gP0t8

mpared's picture

it brilliant buz... well done ?!!

Ron L.'s picture

Oh what a shame that the video has been taken down, reading this article had me laughing out loud, I wish I could have seen what got you so upset. You're an equal opportunity hater, Dabitch.

Dabitch's picture

I hate bad advertising. The product pushed or propaganda spewed is secondary. If the ad is crap, built on a poor strategic foundation or skirting to truth so hard it skids into lies, I will tear it apart regardless of which side of the political spectrum it may fall. It is a shame you missed it, the wooden acting was kind of amazing.

mpared's picture

The links keep dying but here's a subtitled version of the NOM ad

https://youtu.be/OOoXRBzHgds