Pro-life campaign reaches out to BET viewers

AUSTIN, Texas (CNA) - The "Call for Help" ad campaign on Black Entertainment Television is letting women in crisis pregnancy situations that there is help available and they are not alone.

Heroic Media CEO Brian Follett said the campaign was “a direct result of the support of individuals and families who believe that women deserve to learn about hopeful alternatives to abortion.”

Thanks to them, he said “people across the United States will see life-affirming messages daily on BET.”

Research by the non-profit, pro-life ad agency has shown that commercials on the network “are an effective means of reaching women with compassionate messages and connecting them with life-affirming pregnancy resources,” marketing director Marissa Gabrysch said in a May 7 announcement.

In the advertisement, targeted toward women facing abandonment or other consequences of an unplanned pregnancy, a woman tells viewers: “A baby is a life you created – a baby that will love you, and need you, in return.”

“So this pregnancy wasn't planned. It's going to be OK – really,” she says. “There are people that will help you, and services available … You don't have to do this alone.”

Heroic Media's commercial will air more than 60 times during May and June on BET, which reaches an estimated 5.5 million women between the ages of 18 and 34. The ad refers viewers to the “Option Line” service, which connects them with local pregnancy centers.

During 2011, Heroic Media's advertising generated more than 146,000 referrals for resources and information about alternatives to abortion.