THE ALL NEW 81 HOUR MDIV.

removal. Popular Christian author Ann Voskamp tweeted her support. Media outlets picked up Newingham’s story.

And Priceline noticed. The day after she published the initial blog post, the company called Newingham. “We’ve been having meetings and talking about you,” the VP of Communications told her.

“How funny is that?” Newingham says now—to think of executives in their corporate offices talking about a blogger in Illinois. They explained that the ad was part of a new marketing strategy. (Newingham joked to the IB that maybe the company should go back to long-time spokesman William Shatner.)

Priceline said they wanted to release a statement, and they wanted Newingham’s help getting it out. They planned to suspend the ad, but initially, wanted her to release the statement before it was off the air. But she refused, not wanting to lose the trust of all those who had made #shouttogether a success. So she waited until Monday, a week and a day after the commercial first aired.

“Based on your feedback, we have decided to pause the use of the Baby ad to evaluate messaging,” the Priceline statement read. “Rest assured that we have heard your concerns about the message and content of this ad and we are taking them seriously.”

On her blog, Newingham thanked all the readers who had posted, tweeted, commented and shared, putting their efforts into larger perspective:

Midwestern Seminary’s flagship degree is our primary track for ministry preparation. At 81 hours, the M.Div. offers a complete foundation for full-time ministry leaders, offering all you need for a lifetime of fruitful ministry. We are developing a new culture of discipleship devoted to the local church and committed to taking God’s unchanging Word into a rapidly changing world.

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“Because we chose to shout together against Priceline, maybe one more family did decide to take the considerable leap into the process of adopting a child.

“Because we chose to shout together against Priceline, maybe one more child will gain a family.”