Unanimous: Comedy Central's "JC" Has No Advertiser Support

Alexandria, VA - Citizens Against Religious Bigotry (CARB) today announced victory in convincing advertisers not to sponsor the anti-Christian "JC" comedy that Comedy Central announced was in development.

Members of the coalition wrote to more than 300 corporations that had sponsored Comedy Central programming in the past. The letters explained the nature of the program and stated how offensive the "JC" project would be, not only to the 83 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Christians, but also to many non-Christians including those who signed the petition. Coalition members then followed up with phone calls to the advertisers, speaking directly with representatives from most of the corporations that received the original letter.

Not one single sponsor indicated their intention to buy advertising time on the "JC" program if the program ever made it to Comedy Central's air.

Due to the success, the outreach effort has been suspended effective the close of business this past Friday, June 18th.

"After an intense period of writing and then calling hundreds of sponsors, the results are clear. In fact the verdict is unanimous: There is no advertiser support for anti-Christian bigotry such as that embraced in Comedy Central's 'JC' project. The sponsors understand what the programming department at Comedy Central does not: Religious bigotry is bad business," said L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Media Research Center and the founder of CARB.

"With literally zero advertiser support for this program, the only reason Comedy Central would put it on their broadcast schedule is in an effort to offend Christianity and Christians. There is no valid business reason for airing 'JC.'

"In light of this demonstration of overwhelming success, the Coalition's advertiser outreach will stand down. In the event that any advertiser changes its mind, that advertiser and its executives will be publicly called to account for supporting anti-Christian bigotry," concluded Bozell.

Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, offered this comment:

"We are pleased by the magnitude of favorable responses from the advertising community regarding the 'JC' project. Advertisers have become more aware of the inseparable connection between their corporate brand and the entertainment content they make possible by virtue of their sponsorship dollars. This demonstrates an exciting trend, and with fruit like this we look forward to increasing the PTC's investment in its advertiser accountability program."

Citizens Against Religious Bigotry (CARB) is a new coalition created in response to "JC," the animated television series in development by Viacom's Comedy Central that is being created as a situation comedy about God and his son, Jesus Christ. More than 20 member organizations and individuals comprise the coalition and include top Jewish, Christian and non-religious leaders such as the Family Research Council, Michael Medved, Catholic League, American Alliance of Jews and Christians, Parents Television Council and Media Research Center.


To date, more than 117,000 people have signed the grassroots petition urging Viacom and Comedy Central to cancel their plans to air "JC."