At first look, sex, drugs and rock and roll might not be an environment in which a bible advertiser would want to associate with but for Zondervan, publisher of Today’s New International Version of the Bible, it’s right where its target audience of 18-34 year olds hang. So maybe Rolling Stone isn’t completely about sex, drugs and rock and roll but the iconic publication doesn’t want religious ads in its magazine and has rejected an ad for Zondervan’s new edition of the Bible.
The word “truth” in the ad’s tagline, “Timeless truth; Today’s language,” raised the eyebrows of Rolling Stone parent company Wenner Media General Manager Kent Brownridge who said, “The copy is a little more than an ad for the Bible. It’s a religious message that I personally don’t disagree with [but] we are not in the business of publishing advertising for religious messages.”
