The “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ad campaign ran during the fourth quarter and is being both praised and criticized.
The campaign is a Christian advertising initiative that aims to reach people with a message of hope and understanding. The campaign uses a range of media, including billboards, social media, and online videos, to communicate its message to a wide audience.
One of the campaign’s videos, titled “The Rebel,” has netted 88 million views on YouTube in 11 months.
The “He Gets Us” campaign emphasizes the idea that Jesus Christ understands the struggles that people face in their daily lives. The messaging emphasizes the fact that Jesus understands the real challenges that people face in their lives, and that he can provide a real and lasting solution to those challenges.
The controversy around the “He Gets Us” campaign is sparking a conversation about the role of religion and how to balance personal beliefs with broader cultural values. This is nothing new to the Church.
Some people appreciate the emotional message and the focus on unity and hope during a difficult time, while others find it too divisive, promoting the Christian faith. And some Evangelicals believe it offers a watered-down faith.
Questioning the underlying motives.
Some question the money behind the purported $1 billion advertising campaign. David Green, the found of Hobby Lobby has publicly volunteered his public support for the campaign. This, of course, has caused those on the left to overlook the decidedly apolitical message of the campaign and instead to criticize those who are bankrolling the initiative – Evangelicals.
CNN, with obvious disdain, says the association with evangelicals is problematic. In a Feb. 12 piece, they say, “it has theological ties to evangelical practices as well as financial ones. In general, Christian evangelism is closely tied to conservatism and is an extremely influential force in American politics.”
And some on the right are not thrilled either. Charlie Kirk called it a “heretical, woke nightmare” and Alisa Childress calls it an invitation to liberal theology.
Bottom Line
We don’t need Jesus to be relatable to be the Savior of the Earth. I don’t need him to walk in my shoes, to have experienced every one of my issues. It’s true that “because he himself has suffered when tempted, he can help those who are being tempted.” But the suffering servant is also the risen Lord. The humble carpenter is also the King of Kings.
I don’t agree with some of the campaign’s messages, the pandering to certain factions of society. I don’t need to insert Jesus into modern society or my home to make me choose him. Jesus doesn’t really need better PR.
And on the other side, nonbelievers don’t like the conclusion that Jesus is the way. No matter how the message is crafted, it ends with Him.
This campaign will help some who need an inroad to Jesus, the same Lord that will continue to be misunderstood and maligned throughout time.
The world is trying to pigeonhole him into a political box — both sides want to claim Him as their own. But he’ll have none of it. The fact that the campaign is being criticized by both the left and the right, by both the church and the unchurched, tells me they might just be onto something.
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