A 60-second Jesus ad in Super Bowl impressively became the second most-engaged commercial during the sports event.
60-Second Jesus Ad
One of the most effective ways business people capture people’s attention and sell their products is through television or digital ads. For that reason, big businesses usually allocate a large budget to market their product or service. But such a strategy is broader than just businesses because it could also be used as a platform to share Jesus. Hence, the creation of the “He Gets Us” campaign.
He Gets Us. (Screenshot). (2023). Love Your Enemies Ad, February 17, 2023, from: https://youtu.be/f5x1RyJOwP8
Apparently, Hobby Lobby CEO David Green and other unknown Christian sponsors raised funds for the Jesus ads. According to WXMI-TV, they “spent $20 million to run a 30-second Jesus ad in the first half. And a 60-second Jesus ad in the second half of the Super Bowl.”
He Gets Us Campaign
The people behind “He Gets Us” take the opportunity of the Super Bowl platform to spread the message to millions of people. The organization started it last March of 2022. And it’s not just limited to television, but also “radio, digital ads, billboards, and experiential platforms.”
This year’s Super Bowl ad was titled “Love Your Enemies.” It portrayed black-and-white photos of chaos and people arguing, fighting, and raging against each other. Then a message at the end flashed, “Jesus loved the people we hate. He gets us. All of us. Jesus.”
Second Most-Engaged Ad In Super Bowl
Later, according to EDO, a company that measures the stats of TV ads, the Jesus ad became the second most-engaged commercial during Super Bowl. “The Flash” took the first spot, and Walt Disney’s ad came in third.
Great #SuperBowl ad metrics from @edo_data …
Flash movie trailer had most engagement … the Jesus ad & Walt Disney’s celebration in the top 3#Sports #Business #NFL pic.twitter.com/zt5GSJXqru
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) February 13, 2023
The goal of “He Gets Us” is to produce faith-based creative ads which would lead people to know more about Jesus. They intentionally directed the ads to a website where they could “find Bible reading plans, and connect with people online or in person who can answer their questions.”
Although the initiative was impressive, some criticized “He Gets Us” for spending too much.
“When people would hear, ‘Oh, you’re spending $100 million’ they’re like, that’s a lot of money,” Haven President, Jason Vanderground, said in an interview with WXMI. “And I think people are rightly skeptical.”
“They’ve seen marketing be used in ways that manipulated and took advantage of people. We understand that, we actually think that’s healthy to be skeptical about it. But we look at Jesus and just say he was like the perfect communicator. And he used the tools and the means that he had available to him to get his message out. And that’s all we’re doing here.”
Reference | CBN News
Header Image: He Gets Us. (Screenshot). (2023). Love Your Enemies Ad, February 17, 2023, from: https://youtu.be/f5x1RyJOwP8