Marketing

 A bug-bitten and sunburned Jennifer is cranky about the new United Methodist ad campaign. "How does this distinguish the church from the Rotary Club or Amnesty International?" she asks.

It's a good question. A secular humanist obeys the second tablet of the law. A Christian obeys the first tablet too. Trouble is, we Christians have tended to kill each other over the interpretation of the first tablet, so the solution has been, "We aren't going to talk much about that stuff anymore. We're just going to join hands and do good works." But that doesn't work because that hour you're wasting in church could be better spent emailing your Congressman, right?

What would be a better ad campaign? It would have to be true to the mainline ethos, which does involve a lot of good works. Habitat for Humanity, Katrina relief, Mexico mission trips and the like. But it would also have to put Jesus front and center. Because we are a Church, after all, and not Rotary.

I can imagine something illustrating Christocentric practices. To make it Christocentric, you make Jesus the subject of every verb in every sentence. Something like "In the United Methodist Church (or Presbyterian Church, or whatever), Jesus is teaching us the mystery of gratitude and sharing." And you have images of gratitude and sharing that look like whatever mainliners do when they are being grateful and generous, like a soup kitchen ministry or whatever.

And I think I'd consciously us the word "mystery." We live in neo-gnostic times. People are into a privatized spirituality grounded in new insight. "Mystery" is a Biblical word that might appeal to gnostic seekers. It might be a way to co-opt those somewhat under the spell of the spirit of the age for the more communitarian and justice-oriented mainline Christianity. But, because we are more communitarian, the object of every verb would be "us," not "me."

Comments

[Camassia]

I like the "mystery" idea, but it's tricky to convey the religious meaning when most people will assume its more common meaning. I can imagine people thinking, "What's so mysterious about gratitude and sharing? I learned that in kindergarten!" It might be stronger to refer to things that most people really do find knotty, such as "the mystery of doing good when all seems hopeless" or (to get to the ad's subject) "the mystery of our place in God's creation," or something like that.

[Jennifer]

I've never seen a TV ad for the Presbyterians or the Lutherans or any other mainliners. Why do the UMCs keep doing them?

I work in the same building as the headquarters for the ELCA, and I saw their "catchphrase" around a lot: "Living in God's Amazing Grace." Points for mentioning God! But I think that was an internal thing, and not for any kind of ad.

The only other ad for a church I've ever seen was years ago, maybe in the 80s even, for the Mormons. Anyone else remember those ads, that were mostly about spending time with family? It was impossible to tell what the ad was FOR, until the end "brought to you the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints - the Mormons!"

No sunburn actually - SPF 45!

[Camassia]

Oh yeah, I remember those Mormon ads! Not in detail, but they did seem to rank right up there with those Apple "Think Different" ads in coyness about what they were actually selling.

There have been other mainline TV ads. Remember the flap about those UCC "bouncer" ads about five years back? I've also seen Episcopalian ads on the buses around here, but I don't know if they do TV.

[Lee]

Actually, the ELCA did recently start running some ads, which you can view here:

http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/Our-Brand/Ads/TV.aspx

They do at least mention God ("God's work. "Our hands.") and have a cross, but it's still rather mysterious (and not in the way Marvin was getting at, I think).

[Jennifer]

I totally forgot about the UCC ads!