The Freedom From Religion Foundation is looking forward to reaching 22 million viewers during the upcoming Democratic debate with its iconic ad featuring “unabashed atheist” Ron Reagan.
The 30-second commercial will air twice during the presidential debate on Tuesday, Jan. 14, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern on CNN, as well as once during pre-show and post-show commentary on CNN. In addition, the ad will run Wednesday, Jan. 15, on “Erin Burnett OutFront” (7-8 p.m. Eastern), “Anderson Cooper 360” (8-9 p.m.) and for the first time on “Cuomo Prime Time” (9-10 p.m.).
During the commercial, the son of President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan says:
Hi, I’m Ron Reagan, an unabashed atheist, and I’m alarmed by the intrusion of religion into our secular government. That’s why I’m asking you to support the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the nation’s largest and most effective association of atheists and agnostics, working to keep state and church separate, just like our Founding Fathers intended. Please support the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell.
It is the same commercial that ruled the internet during the Democratic debate on CNN in mid-October, when the name of Ron Reagan became the most searched term on Google in the course of the debate and among the top 20 trenders on Twitter. The ad also got a lot of approving nods, including from comedian and actress Sarah Silverman. And it received a lot of media coverage, albeit sometimes grudgingly.
Freethinkers are an increasingly influential portion of the voting population. Studies show that secular voters could comprise about a quarter of the electorate and care deeply about hot-button issues, including the direction of the judiciary and protecting abortion and LGBTQ rights.
“We continue to be grateful to Ron Reagan for so graciously recording this commercial and educating the United States about FFRF, our purposes and the growing segment of the population that is not religious,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president.
FFRF also thanks its membership, especially donors to FFRF’s Advertising and PR Fund, for making possible this major outreach.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational charity, is the nation’s largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics), and has been working since 1978 to keep religion and government separate.
