Concerned Christian Super Bowl ad campaign

UPDATE DAY

An advertising campaign promoting Christianity and Jesus is coming to our screens this year during the Super Bowl: several experts are sounding the alarm.  

The He Gets Us promotional campaign, which received an investment of $100 million, will air two ads on Sunday during the Super Bowl. 

On the side of their website, the content offered revolves around current topics such as artificial intelligence and social justice. The campaign protagonist also wears many faces: an immigrant, a refugee, an activist for women's rights and against racial injustice. 

“No matter what you face, Jesus did it too,” says the campaign. 

Although this campaign is in line with the NFL, where there are many religious symbols, experts are concerned for several reasons.

He Gets Us is an affiliate of The Servant Foundation, which has donated tens of millions of dollars to the Alliance Defending Freedom. This is a conservative Christian legal group that has been involved in restricting the rights of the LGBQ+ community. 

Additionally, one of the biggest givers is Hobby Lobby co-founder David Green. Hobby Lobby is credited with supporting anti-LGBTQ legislation and successfully pushing the Supreme Court to allow companies to deny birth control medical coverage if it doesn't align with their religious beliefs.

The ad campaign is also associated with evangelical churches, even though He Gets Us claims otherwise. Christian evangelicalism is linked to conservatism and greatly influences American politics.

Also, according to many, the objective of He Gets Us is to woo young people who consider Christianity to be toxic. But for other Christians, the message conveyed by the campaign is not authentic.

“Young people are digital natives who understand the difference between slick marketing and authenticity. Megachurches, megaevents, and megamarketing spend are seen as money that could be used to fund community programs and advocate for oppressed and marginalized people,” said Kevin M. Young, pastor and scholar.