"Jesus is Muslim" ads provoke Ohio Christians

According to Yahoo! (via Fox News, obviously) these boards are posted in Ohio. Who could possibly take issue?

 In a press release sent to Christian Newswire, [Christian radio host Dave] Daubenmire wrote, “Although we support the Islamic community's right to free speech, as well as their right to post messages on billboards, we do not support the hi-jacking of the name of Jesus Christ in their attempt to lure uninformed Christians into their religion.” Operation Save America was less diplomatic about the rally, writing on their website, “It appears that the Muslim community in Columbus, Ohio, is becoming increasingly arrogant in spreading its monstrous religion, with its false book, and its false prophet, right in the face of the Church of Jesus Christ in Columbus. It has purchased space on three billboards around the city spreading lies about the Gospel of Christ.”

Dave, you may want to look up "free speech". It's the same concept that lets "Operation Save America" spew their intolerance.

Ironically, the Ask A Muslim campaign is all about unity among the Abrahamic religions. On its web site, it says "Adam, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammed: One Message, One God". (However, later in the slide show, it also states rather exclusively "Islam: The Religion of The Only God".)

The Ask a Muslim site claims to invite discussion, saying "We believe that clearing up the many misconceptions about Islam will make this world a better place. A place with less violence and hatred, filled with mutual respect and understanding."



But in the end, this just seems to be an attempt to poke the bear of Christian fundamentalism in the United States by a brand of Islam that is equally intolerant of dissent. Makes me wish both groups would just "let god sort it out," since they're both into fatalism:

Sigh.

"Voter suppression" billboards removed by Clear Channel

Via The Plain Dealer

Wow.

The above billboard, paid for by an anonymous "private family foundation" was placed in poor and predominantly Black or Hispanic neighbourhoods in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

The Plain Dealer reports that The Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights contacted Clear Channel (the media company in Cleveland) about the ads, explaining that the signs the signs, "stigmatize the African-American community by implying that voter fraud is a more significant problem in African American neighborhoods than elsewhere," and the billboards "attach an implicit threat of criminal prosecution to the civic act of voting."

As of October 15, Clear Channel — owned in part by Mitt Romney’s former firm Bain Capital — was refusing to remove the billboards, blaming a rogue salesperson for allowing anonymity to be stipulated in a contract. Jim Cullinan, vice president of marketing and communications for Clear Channel Outdoor, told the Washington Post, " once we put them up and signed a contract, we had to live with the anonymity."

According to an update from Media Post, the Clear Channel people have changed their minds about that, agreeing to remove the ads because the billboards actually do violate their policy of "not accepting anonymous political ads" — contract or not. Some sources state that the anonymous advertisers were given the choice to identify themselves publicly or have their campaign removed. Showing the typical lack of personal responsibility typical of trolls everywhere, they chose anonymity.

Clear Channel wasn't exactly showing an amazing change of heart. They didn't have much of a choice. In Cleveland, City Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland and State Sen. Nina Turner held a rally in front of one billboard installation on October 11 to demand the removal of the ads. There were also petitions at sumofus.org, change.org and signon.org, and the effort was coordinated by online civil rights organization colorofchange.org.

People's World reports that billboards in Cincinnati, managed by local media company Norton Outdoor, are still up. (Norton's mission statement claims, "We are equally committed to being a good corporate citizen in every community in which we do business")

Clear Channel, in a gesture intended to calm the PR crisis, has donated 10 billboards around the Cleveland area for this message:

F'd Ad Fridays: I have a feeling the AD is really into ball gags

Toledo's HART agency took one rather creepy visual idea and rolled it out into a campaign of five for TARTA (Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority):

Via AoTW

Mammufactured outrage?

This billboard, from the Ohio Department of Health, has apparently caused controversy for its portrayal of a face full of breastmilk.

Fox Toledo quotes one viewer:

"When I first saw it I thought, you know, I agree with breast milk, it's fine but then I saw it with the milk around its mouth and I though that was so unappealing. The baby's cute, but I did not like the milk coming out of his mouth."

The funny thing, though, is that in three regional articles about this campaign, the only negative comments reported were similar to the one above — squeamish reactions to the drool.

Of course, supporters all bring up comparisons to the long-standing "Got Milk?" campaign:



And the comments sections on Fox Toledo and The Cleveland Leader seem overwhelmingly supportive.

What gives? Is the media manufacturing controversy where there is none?

More interesting is the video segment, which shows another execution with a white baby and no visible milk. No reason is given. Was this really just a photographic contrast thing?



Ohio has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the United States, with 58.5% of new mothers even attempting it, and just 12% still nursing their babies after a year. The Help Me Grow program assists thousands of families in Ohio, many of whom on limited incomes. For these target markets, the ads are a reminder that breastfeeding is healthy and free.