He Gets Us
During this year's Super Bowl, I found the "He Gets Us" commercials the most memorable. They completely caught my attention and I found them captivating. I was also shocked in the end when they were a campaign for Jesus. For this week's post I decided to dig deeper into who made these ads and what the motivation was behind it. I didn't realize what a giant rabbit hole this would turn out to be.
Who created this message?
This question is trickier to answer than I originally thought it would be. The head of marketing for this campaign and the marketing firm, HAVEN, is named Jason Vanderground. He seems to be the face behind these campaigns, but upon further digging, it turns out these ads are backed by a $100 million dollar donation which is suspected to be backed by a non-profit linked to conservative right wing causes.
What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
In my opinion, these commercials were amazing. They caught my attention using everything I view as worrisome in our country right now. They show racial tensions, anger, political tensions, hatred, and the generally divisive state of our country right now. The song Human, by Rag 'n' Bone Man, immediately captivated me and drew me in to the scenes being flashed across the screen. It was hard to not be drawn in to the photos flashing across the screen.
How might different people interpret this message differently than me?
This commercial can be, and obviously was, interpreted differently by different people/groups. Where upon my original watching of these ads, I thought they were trying to say that Christianity and religious Christians need to embrace loving everyone equally and to stop the hate. The message at the end of Jesus Loved the People We Hate is so interesting to me. It clearly says to me that many Christians hate others in our country. The irony is that they song has lyrics saying, "Maybe I'm foolish, maybe I'm blind. Thinkin' I can see through this and what is behind." It is almost a contradiction. If the people this is targeting can see what the true meaning of this commercial is, they might feel differently about it.
What viewpoints or world views are included or left out of this message?
I believe this is targeting Americans, specifically those looking for answers to the rising hatred and dissension in our country. It is not necessarily speaking to the world view of war or other atrocities happening outside of our country. I did not see anything referring to Native American, Jewish people, LGBTQ or Muslims. It is speaking more to police brutality and anger of the American people. I found it interesting that they said Jesus loved the people we hate, love your enemies. I am curious who the enemies are? I don't think any of the minorities are "enemies" but it almost seems to be perpetuating the hatred instead of curbing it.
Why is this message being sent?
Upon watching more interviews and news programming, I realize that these ads might not be coming from such a place of love and acceptance. Skeptics are questioning where the $100 million dollar backing is actually coming from and many believe they are hoping to get the younger generation (who they say are fleeing the churches at record numbers) back into the church, by showing that they are a loving and accepting, when they are actually right wing evangelical churches who are trying to steer the younger generation into joining right wing political groups.