Disclosure above all else

We'll start this post with a little quiz (and if you follow media controversies closely, it's an easy one.) What is the mission of the organization "Focus on the Family"?

It's a vague sounding name. For all we know, it could be a group put together by Milton Bradley to promote game night and togetherness. However, that's not exactly it. From their website: Our mission is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible by nurturing and defending the God-ordained institution of the family and promoting biblical truths worldwide.

Have you heard of them? They're the group putting together an anti-abortion Super Bowl ad featuring Tim Tebow. An investment of around $2.5 million, it's CBS's first advocacy ad sold during the big game, and falls in line with the network's new policy of accepting opinion advertisements.

It's controversial, for sure. But putting aside the ad's subject matter, there's a glaring problem. Instead of telling the organization's story, Focus on the Family has hired college football star Tim Tebow and his mother to tell theirs. There's little doubt that the name and mission of the ad's sponsor won't show up until the end - probably as part of some fancy graphic with small print at the bottom. As with all other advocacy ads, the focus is on one-sided opinions, with little or no disclosure as to the funding, purpose or background of the actual organization.

Regardless of your political, social or religious beliefs, an audience deserves to know who's holding the puppet strings: an insurance company making an ad against healthcare reform, a solar power organization dramatically depicting the dangers of oil - it doesn't matter. With the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning a ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections, disclosure and transparency may be all the public has left. The First Amendment protects our right to free speech, but it doesn't protect our right to concealment.

As marketers, advertisers and public relations professionals, it's our ethical responsibility to disclose our biases and agendas.

Do you agree? Is honesty always the best policy?