The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s great experiment to storm the “Bishops’ Bastille” in our unprecedented TV ad campaign countering the Catholic Bishops’ war against contraception has been illuminating!
The 30-second spot featuring personable Julia Sweeney is running approximately 1,200 times over a two-week period on a variety of national TV — but in regional markets. Those who may view the ads have the following TV or cable carriers: Dish, DirecTV, Cox, Comcast, Verizon and Viamedia.
We’re getting a lot of phone calls at the FFRF office in response. Some callers are giving our female receptionists a hard time, making unprintable comments. But others are our kind of folks, such as a grandmother in Pennsylvania who said she was raised Catholic but is “98 percent atheist,” and is disgusted by the Catholic Church’s attempt, as she put it, to “put canon law over civil law.”
A kind man living in a remote area of North Carolina caught us on MSNBC’s Hardball With Chris Matthews. Another North Carolinian called after seeing Julia’s spot on a rerun of the The Daily Show and said people have forgotten the need for a strict separation between state and church. I couldn’t help replying: “It might sound strange for an atheist to say this, but hallelujah, brother.” He laughed and said, “Amen, sister.”
Over the weekend, FFRF’s Facebook page got more than 500 new “likes.” (But hey Facebook fans — much as we appreciate the thumbs’ up, if you really like us, please join us!)
The ads started rolling out last Thursday — coinciding with the Catholic Bishops’ so-called “Fortnight of Freedom” anticontraception offensive (which seems to be a big wipeout).
FFRF’s website updates the listing of shows daily so viewers get a heads up on when the commercial is expected to air through July 4. Click here to view updates of the daily listings.
All times are listed as “expected air times” and are recorded as Eastern time on a 24-hour clock (e.g., 5:45 means 5:45 a.m. Eastern, 16:15 means 4:15 p.m. Eastern). Reminder: These ads are purchased as a remnant package, so they may be pre-empted. But FFRF is guaranteed to reach 42 million viewers.
Even if you can’t view the ads yourself, we hope you’ll let friends and family living in areas served by these carriers know about this opportunity to see something splendidly subversive toward religion on TV! View Julia’s ad.
Julia Sweeney Ad Times: Tuesday, June 26
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 0:15
- CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight, 0:15
- FNC, Hannity, 0:15
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 0:15
- CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight, 0:45
- CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight, 0:45
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 0:45
- FNC, Hannity, 0:45
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 0:45
- FNC, Hannity, 0:45
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 1:15
- COMEDY, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, 1:15
- FNC, On the Record With Greta Van Susteren, 1:15
- MSNBC, The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell, 1:15
- MSNBC, The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell, 1:45
- FNC, On the Record With Greta Van Susteren, 1:45
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 1:45
- HLN, Nancy Grace, 1:45
- COMEDY, The Colbert Report, 1:45
- MSNBC, Hardball With Chris Matthews, 2:15
- CNN, Erin Burnett OutFront, 2:15
- CNN, Erin Burnett OutFront, 2:45
- HLN, Showbiz Tonight, 2:45
- MSNBC, Hardball With Chris Matthews, 2:45
- CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight, 3:15
- FNC, Hannity, 0:15
- MSNBC, The Ed Show, 3:15
- CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight, 3:45
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 4:15
- HLN, Showbiz Tonight, 4:15
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 4:15
- FNC, The O’Reilly Factor, 4:15
- TRUTV, The Investigators, 4:15
- COMEDY, Comedy Central Presents, 4:45
- HLN, Showbiz Tonight, 4:45
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 4:45
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 4:45
- FNC, The O’Reilly Factor, 4:45
- TRUTV, The Investigators, 4:45
- CNN, Early Start, 5:45
- CURRENT, Full Court Press: The Bill Press Show, 6:15
- MSNBC, Morning Joe, 6:15
- FNC, FOX and Friends, 6:45
- MSNBC, Morning Joe, 6:45
- MSNBC, Morning Joe, 7:15
- MSNBC, Morning Joe, 8:15
- HISTORY, Secrets of the Dollar Bill, 8:15
- MSNBC, Morning Joe, 8:45
- DSC, Swords: Life on the Line, 9:15
- MSNBC, The Daily Rundown, 9:15
- CNN, CNN Newsroom, 9:45
- COMEDY, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, 9:45
- MSNBC, The Daily Rundown, 9:45
- DSC, Swords: Life on the Line, 9:45
- COMEDY, The Colbert Report, 10:15
- MSNBC, Jansing and Co., 10:15
- MSNBC, Jansing and Co., 10:45
- MSNBC, MSNBC Live, 11:15
- HLN, Morning Express With Robin Meade, 11:45
- HISTORY, Cults: Dangerous Devotion, 11:45
- MSNBC, MSNBC Live, 11:45
- CNN, CNN Newsroom, 12:45
- MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell Reports, 13:15
- MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell Reports, 13:45
- DSC, Tuna Wranglers, 13:45
- HLN, News Now, 15:15
- COMEDY, Comedy Central Presents, 15:15
- HLN, News Now, 15:45
- CNN, The Situation Room, 16:15
- HLN, News Now, 16:45
- CNN, The Situation Room, 16:45
- MSNBC, Hardball With Chris Matthews, 17:15
- CNN, The Situation Room, 17:15
- HLN, Evening Express, 17:45
- MSNBC, Hardball With Chris Matthews, 17:45
- CNN, The Situation Room, 17:45
- WE, Charmed, 17:45
- CURRENT, Hurricanes From Hell, 18:15
- FNC, Special Report With Bret Baier, 18:15
- HLN, Evening Express, 18:15
- CNN, The Situation Room, 18:45
- FNC, Special Report With Bret Baier, 18:45
- CURRENT, The Young Turks With Cenk Uygur, 19:15
- WE, Bridezillas, 19:15
- MSNBC, Hardball With Chris Matthews, 19:15
- COMEDY, The Colbert Report, 19:15
- COMEDY, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, 19:45
- MSNBC, Hardball With Chris Matthews, 19:45
- WE, Bridezillas, 19:45
- DSC, Deadliest Catch, 16:45
- DSC, Deadliest Catch, 20:15
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 20:15
- FNC, The O’Reilly Factor, 20:45
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 20:45
- LMN, Movie, 20:45
- HLN, Nancy Grace, 20:45
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 21:15
- MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show, 21:45
- CNN, Piers Morgan Tonight, 21:45
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 22:15
- FNC, On the Record With Greta Van Susteren, 22:15
- CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, 22:45
- FNC, On the Record With Greta Van Susteren, 22:45
- COMEDY, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, 23:15
- FNC, The O’Reilly Factor, 23:15
- HLN, Showbiz Tonight, 23:45
- DSC, Deadliest Catch, 23:45
- COMEDY, The Colbert Report, 23:45