Press Release
HOW MUCH IS ONE LIFE WORTH?
Vitae Caring Foundation Believes Each One is Priceless
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., Jan. 2, 2008 – You can’t set a price on the life of a baby—or its mother. To get that message to the widest possible audience the Vitae Caring Foundation has spent the last 16 years producing professional television and radio commercials designed to educate viewers and listeners about resources for pregnant women facing a crisis pregnancy.
Producing commercials—especially television commercials—and buying air time is an expensive proposition, yet Vitae isn’t counting the cost, it’s celebrating the results. For example, after a Vitae ad ran in New York, the city that leads the nation in abortions, the EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers received more than 1,100 calls and over 400 visits. Best of all, the lives of 138 babies were saved in New York City. After Vitae commercials ran in Dallas, pregnancy resource centers reported a 169 percent increase in calls; in Kansas City crisis pregnancy centers fielded 181 percent more calls than usual; and in Minneapolis the month after the Vitae ads ran on TV, abortions dropped by 10.6 percent.
Yet, as we approach the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, there is still so much more do. Vitae is constantly re-evaluating its message and studying new ways to frame the issue so they can reach teenagers eager to experiment with their sexuality, women who may or may not be ready to start a family, and men whose actions and opinions very often are a catalyst for a woman’s decision to abort or keep her baby. To keep Vitae’s message fresh and convincing requires new market research, as well as consultation with media and marketing professionals. All of that is expensive, too.
Vitae’s decision in 1991 to enter the media was based upon the realization that in today’s world most people get their information and develop their opinions based upon what they see and hear in the mass media. And so, to change hearts and change minds, to reach the market that needs to hear the message that women need real choices and that life is sacred, Vitae creates TV and radio spots that are positive, persuasive, and non-threatening. The way the people at Vitae see it, in the struggle to bring America back to its traditional respect for human life, developing effective television and radio campaigns is not a flashy luxury, but an absolute necessity. After all, the goal is to save human lives, each one of which is priceless.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Pia de Solenni or Carl Landwehr please contact Christine Schicker at 404-610-8871 or Ashley Walker at 678-990-9032, both with The Maximus Group.
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VITAE CARING FOUNDATION CELEBRATES FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
Catholics Around the World Pray to Patroness of Unborn to End Abortion
Jefferson City, Mo., Dec. 7, 2007 – Catholics around the world celebrate December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn and guardian of those who serve the unborn and their mothers. The appearance of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to an Indian in 16th century Mexico represented the beginning of the conversion of Mexico to Christianity and an end to human sacrifices that took place at the time. The celebration also takes place as Christians around the world prepare for Christmas and prayerfully accompany Mary in these last days of her pregnancy. Like many of the women faced with unplanned pregnancies today, Mary had few resources and little certainty of what the future would hold.
The Vitae Caring Foundation is a unique organization that works to reduce the number of abortions by placing non-threatening ads on mainstream television, radio and in high-traffic areas. These ads help women facing an unplanned pregnancy to realize that they have choices besides abortion and that there are people who will help them in these choices. Vitae helps them to make a choice they can live with.
In just over 15 years, Vitae has developed close to 30 ads in English and Spanish that have run in more than 65 media markets. During this time, abortion rates have dropped in areas where Vitae ads have had a sustained presence. When Vitae conducts its ad campaigns, referrals to local pregnancy centers increase dramatically. As a result, women are able to find the support they need to bring their pregnancies to term.
Although Vitae is not a specifically religious organization, it shares the goal and mission of people of good will throughout the world. December 12 marks a particular opportunity to share with Catholics as they celebrate a feast which has gained even greater significance in light of abortion, its consequences, and its aftermath.
To schedule an interview with Vitae spokesperson, Dr. Pia de Solenni or President, Carl Landwehr please contact Walker or Schicker.
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NEW CAUSE TO GIVE THANKS DURING RESPECT LIFE MONTH
Vitae Caring Foundation's TV Ads Change Viewers' Attitudes, Save Babies' Lives, and Advance the Respect Life Message
JEFFERSON CITY , MO , October 17, 2007 – It has been 35 years since the Catholic bishops of the United States declared October to be Respect Life Month. During this month, Catholics can give thanks for the advances the pro-life cause has achieved in 2007:
- in April the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion;
- in June President Bush vetoed a bill to fund stem cell research that would have authorized the destruction of human embryos.
But renewed respect for life extends beyond court decisions and legislation in Washington, D.C. Across the country women are re-examining their position on abortion, with the result that the lives of hundreds of babies are being saved. If there is one organization that is especially responsible for changing attitudes and reducing abortions it is the Vitae Caring Foundation. For 15 years Vitae has produced professional, persuasive, non-threatening television commercials, airing them on some of the most popular television and cable stations, programs which draw large audiences and a broad cross-section of viewers, including MTV, BET, and FOX. How successful are the Vitae TV spots? Let's look at the numbers.
New York City leads the nation in abortions. Yet after a Vitae commercial ran in New York , the EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers received more than 1,100 calls and over 400 visits. Best of all, the lives of 138 babies were saved in New York City .
There are similar success stories in Dallas where, after Vitae commercials aired, pregnancy resource centers reported a 169 percent increase in calls. In Kansas City crisis pregnancy centers fielded 181 percent more calls than usual. And in Minneapolis the month after the Vitae commercials ran on TV, abortions dropped by 10.6 percent. Today Vitae's groundbreaking TV spots appear in over 60 markets—from New York to Atlanta , from Jacksonville to Los Angeles to Seattle , from Houston to Ontario .
It may strike some people as odd to take the pro-life message to TV, but Vitae's Founder, Carl Landwehr, believes that to spread the culture of life message, you have to go where the public's ideas and values are formed—and that is the mass media. On average Americans spend ten hours each day in front of the television, listening to the radio, or surfing online. To reach this vast audience Vitae has produced 30 commercials—in English and in Spanish—as well as many radio spots and ads that run on the Internet.
There is still a great deal of work to do. But thanks to the Vitae Caring Foundation the pro-life message is reaching new audiences. And for that, everyone who respects life should give thanks.
To schedule an interview with Carl Landwehr or another Vitae Spokesperson, please contact Schicker (404-610-8871) or Walker (678-990-9032).
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What Do Shampoo, Crisis Pregnancies and John Paul II's New Evangelization Have in Common? Mass Media Professionals Use
Commercial
Ad Space to Preach a Gospel of Life
Jefferson City , MO. September 11, 2007 – In the same commercial break that tries to sell you cornflakes, a new kind of commercial has made its way into your home and the homes of nearly 220 million other Americans. It opens in a classroom filled with African American students. One by one the students stand up and say what they “would have been” before they disappear. A doctor. A famous actress. A basketball player. Then we learn that one out of every three black babies is aborted and that more black Americans have been killed through abortion in the last three decades than by all other causes combined. Finally an African-American teacher looks squarely into the camera and says, “Think about it.”
The commercial, created and produced by Vitae Caring Foundation, appears during breaks on MTV, BET and on a variety of different news programs. In 2007 alone, Vitae commercials have been seen in 23 markets nationally.
The inspiration behind the commercials is unusual too—the late Pope John Paul II, who at the dawn of the new millennium called upon all people to begin a New Evangelization throughout the world to build what he described as “a Culture of Life.”
“Vitae takes this call very seriously,” says Carl Landwehr, President of Vitae. “We have found a window into the world that is open to every person, in every situation. With nearly 98% of American households utilizing at least one television, we can be assured that with every commercial we air, at least one more soul is saved, one more heart is changed and one more mind is claimed for the Culture of Life.”
Vitae's television campaign marks an innovative step forward in pro-life education. Landwehr steers clear of “shock” ads and scare tactics that upset and alienate viewers, producing instead commercials with an emotional connecting message that stir up the emotions of the viewers, touch their conscience, and give them something to think about. Vitae's ads purposely target pro-choice viewers, and by presenting them with situations that reflect some of their other values, help them become more responsive to the pro-life position. And it's working. “Vitae's ads parallel the movement of the New Evangelization, taking the message of truth to everyone where they're at,” says Dr. Pia de Solenni, an expert on life issues. “Today's public square is mainstream media and Vitae is there with cutting edge ads that transform the lives of women and save the lives of unborn children.”
The last 15 years has seen a steady decline in the number of abortions and an increase in the number of people who identify themselves as pro-life. With powerful marketing tools such as the vanishing students commercial, Vitae is helping to bring society another step closer to John Paul II's Culture of Life.
De Solenni and Landwehr are available for interviews. Please contact Schicker (404-610-8871) or Walker (678-990-9032) with The Maximus Group. To learn more about Vitae's work or to view over a dozen ads, visit their website at www.adsforlife.org.
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CHANGED IN 30 SECONDS
How One Organization Uses Commercials
to
Restore a Culture of Life
JEFFERSON CITY , MO , August 8, 2007 – Public opinion. How is it shaped? What affects it when it changes, weakens or strengthens? Many would point to politicians. Some might say teachers or parents. But overwhelmingly, statistics prove that public opinion is formed in the marketplace of ideas fueled by popular media. Radio, television, films and music are shaping the future of beliefs in American society.
Think about it. Over 100 million homes in America have televisions. In most homes, there are more TV's than people. Nearly ten hours a day are consumed by some form of media: radio, television, music, video games or internet. Study after study has shown how these various media affect the lives of the people who are consuming them. From violent behavior shaped by video games to the effect of magazine ads on body image, the messages we get from the media affect how people think.
These studies are exactly the reason why the Vitae Caring Foundation is mining in this mission field. Through powerful, high-quality commercials, Vitae is producing messages that are having an affect on how people make decisions about critical issues.
“The results show that substantial numbers of viewers have moved from being ‘neutral' or ‘favoring abortion' to ‘generally opposing abortion' as a result of their viewing these TV commercials,” says Vitae spokeswoman, Dr. Pia de Solenni. “What this demonstrates is the media strategy that is being used is having a cumulative effect on the people. Public attitudes that were once apathetic or decidedly pro-abortion have now moved towards respect for the lives of women and their children yet to be born.”
Vitae Caring Foundation started its work in 1991 as an answer to a question. “A group of individuals wanted to deal with pro-life issues in a more-effective way,” explains Carl Landwehr, President of Vitae Caring Foundation, “ and together we asked the question, ‘How would you market the product of life, if that was your business?'” The result has been over 15 years of research, production and placement of high-quality commercials which encourage a greater respect for human life, restore traditional values in our American culture, and reduce the number of abortions by using mass media education.
Sean Hannity, co-host of Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes remarked to Vitae leadership recently, “You're changing minds, and you're changing hearts and the world is a better place because of your vision.”
Vitae spokespersons are available for interviews. To schedule an interview, please contact Schicker at 404.610.8871 or Walker at 678.990.9032.
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