An ad for a newly-translated version of the Scriptures will appear in Rolling Stone magazine, after magazine publishers reversed their decision to reject it.
The revelation was good news for Zondervan, the publisher trying to spread the word about its Today's New International Version Bible, which is being marketed to young, hip readers.
Zondervan was surprised earlier this month to learn Rolling Stone rejected its ad, which shows a young man with tousled hair, a two-day growth of beard and a beaded necklace. In a dark space next to him are the words: “Today it makes sense more than ever.”
The ad, which does not mention Jesus, is an important piece in Zondervan's $1 million ad blitz.
“We're ecstatic they've decided to accept our ad,” Doug Lockhart, Zondervan executive vice president for marketing, said.
Zondervan on Jan. 24 learned of the reversal, which did not come with an apology-not unexpected, Lockhart said.
The ad will appear in mid-February.
Rolling Stone, which has 1.2 million readers, refused to comment on its original decision to reject the ad, other than to say it did not accept advertisements for religious messages. The decision led to widespread criticism from conservative and religious commentators. For Zondervan, the controversy meant free advertising-so much so that it moved up its release date of the new Bible by two weeks, to Feb. 1.
Magazine officials told USA Today “internal miscommunications” led to the rejection, and they apologized for any confusion.
Zondervan is trying to reach out to the market of 18- to 34-year-olds-8 million strong by its research. Its ads also are scheduled to run in the Onion, an edgy satire newspaper, in Modern Bride, and on MTV and America Online web sites.
Religion News Service