What We Really Think of The Christian Super Bowl Ads
I, Peter, possibly controversially think that the 'He Gets Us' Ads at the Super Bowl are the kind of campaign the Church should be doing more of. And this was only reinforced by listening to Carey Nieuwhof interview Bill McKendry, the creative mind behind the Ads. This interview will give you the backstory to the campaign, the heart behind the Ads and insights that'll help UK churches of all shapes and sizes. In this email, I'm going to tackle two of the common objections head-on and explain how they expose some lessons churches in the UK might still need to learn.
It's A Waste of Money
Most of the comments I've seen on social media have been around the cost of producing the Ads and purchasing Ad Time during the Super Bowl, estimated to be $19 million, and that Jesus might think of better ways of spending such funds. This campaign has been funded by wealthy private individuals, and in my experience high net worth individuals are some of the most generous people I've ever known, almost always in secret. Just because they are choosing to spend their own money on this campaign, does not mean they ain't also giving to the poor and helping the vulnerable. These criticisms miss the fact that in America Super Bowl Ad Time is the most cost-effective way of reaching large numbers of people. If I had millions to spend on an Ad campaign, this is probably exactly how I'd spend it.
These Ads are brand engagement. They have taken survey data on Americans' views on Christianity, the Church and Christ, and developed a campaign to counteract these views and move people toward faith. 112,300,000 people were presented with an introduction to the Gospel message, done in a creative and professional way. We should be pleased with that. But, furthermore, we should learn from that. Church comms and marketing is almost always centred around getting people to an event, instead influencing how they think and feel. If we focused on brand engagement, instead of event promotion, we'd probably reach more people with the Gospel.
Why Is There No Mention of Scripture?
This is often an objection when Christian marketing is aimed at non-Christians but doesn't reference the bible. There seems to be a feeling that a bible verse will make it more effective, or more 'proper', or that it's impossible to preach the Gospel accurately without one. But, I think these objections misunderstand the point. Advertising like this is designed to make people more interested in the Christian faith, not present a full Gospel message. It's designed to help people rethink their misconception of Jesus, not bring them to a point of commitment. And in a post-Christian culture, when whether we like it or not the bible is not seen as trustworthy as it once was, inserting a bible verse into an Ad like this might actually have the opposite effect. For the 'He Gets Us' campaign, their website features bible reading plans for more who want to know more.
For me, this objection shows that the Church at large still doesn't understand how to speak to a post-Christian culture. We need to learn from Paul at Mars Hill in Acts 17. Here Paul is speaking to a non-Jewish audience, so he doesn't quote the old testament. He is speaking in a Greek city, so he used their poems and shows them how they speak of the resurrected Christ. It's this model the 'He Gets Us' campaign is following and a model the UK might still need to learn.
Watch The Ads
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