As Damar Hamlin’s injury and the prayer surrounding it starts to put prayer and Christ back in the public conversation in a good way, this year’s Super Bowl could do even more to get people thinking about Christ again. That’s because the “He Gets Us” advertisement campaign sponsored in part by the family that owns Hobby Lobby will run two ads during the Super Bowl.
The campaign spokesman, Jason Vanderground, told The Associated Press that airing the ads during the Super Bowl, during which they might very well be seen by 100 million Americans is an idea that “fits with our target audience really well. We’re trying to get the message across to people who are spiritually open, but skeptical.”
Fox News Digital, adding context to that statement, noted that “At a time when the U.S. Christian population is down and religion has become a divisive topic, the group hopes to reach as many as possible and help spread the message of Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God.”
Vanderground also said “We think Jesus is a big deal and we want to make a big deal out of it. What better way to do that than to put him in the biggest cultural moment that we have the entire year?”
The ads created by the campaign are, however, far from being what more conservative Christians would like to see. That’s because some of the ads present Jesus as a migrant or refugee, as Fox News Digital reported, saying:
The campaign reportedly highlights the idea that Jesus was a refugee and was unfairly stereotyped in a way akin to other marginalized minority groups in the modern world.
Religion News Service National Reporter Bob Smietana, speaking with NPR, said the focus is attempting to appeal to the LGBTQ community and other groups that previously felt unwelcome in the church.
One commercial depicts a slideshow about migrants fleeing their home to avoid persecution. The ad concludes by revealing the story is actually about Jesus and his mother Mary, and her husband Joseph.
The two ads airing during the Super Bowl, however, will not be those woke ads meant to draw in “marginalized minority groups.” Rather, they’ll be about how children embody and demonstrate the love of Christ and how dealing with one’s anger can help mold you into a better person. So, they are generic messages with a Christian tint that might draw a few people into the church.
The campaign plans to spend $20 million on the Super Bowl spots and $2 billion over all. The ads direct people to a website where they can read Bible verses, learn about Jesus, and chat with people about Christ and the faith.
Whether the campaign will prove successful is another matter. While many conservatives might want to back the campaign, its woke drift and stance on the migrant issue will likely turn off many on the right that might be interested in the faith, and the left’s pro-gay, pro-abortion views are antithetical to Christianity.
Here’s one of the ads, called “Outrage”.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
Featured image credit: screenshot from embedded video
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