Gabe Trevino found it funny that his grandpa wanted to be buried with beer and cigarettes.
So Trevino, who attends Pasadena’s Mosaic Church service on Sundays, had a good start when he sat down to write a commercial to be produced by Mosaic’s lead Pastor Erwin McManus.
Mosaic’s commercial is one of six finalists for the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl competition. The three entries with the most votes from Internet viewers will air Sunday during the big game.
Voting ended Jan. 31.
McManus, of Whittier, leads the church’s seven congregations in Pasadena, Whittier, downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Redondo Beach, Chino and Berkeley.
The nondenominational Christian church emphasizes the arts during its services, said Kevin Willson, director of the commercial, which is titled “Casket.”
In the commercial, a man pretends to be dead so he can get his dying wish to be laid to rest in a casket full of Doritos. During his memorial service, the man eats chips and watches the Super Bowl in a television placed in the casket. But the casket tips and his ruse is discovered. After the topple, a friend attending the service stands up and declares that everyone has seen a miracle. . . .
The commercial got plenty of Internet views, and its makers think it has a good chance to be shown.
If it is rated the top overall commercial by the USA TODAY Ad Meter, the winners could get $1 million. If it makes second or third, it could garner $600,000 or $400,000.
If the commercial wins a cash prize, everyone who helped make the $3,000 film will get part of the money, Willson said.
“A big chunk of our budget was buying 70 bags of Doritos to fill the casket,” Willson said.
Although it – sort of – has somebody rising from the dead, the film didn’t have much to do with the Christian faith, Willson said.
“We didn’t really try to put in any theological implications,” Willson said. “We thought, `What’s the funniest story that will make Doritos look great.”
via Crunch time for Pasadena church that produced Doritos Super Bowl commercial – Whittier Daily News.
So is this a ministry activity or a triviality? Yes, if the church wins a million dollars, it will help its ministry, but is this worthy of a church?
What if churches or denominations put on actual commercials that communicated its actual message? What might be a good commercial that a church might run without looking stupid or demeaning itself? Or had churches better just stick to preaching, teaching, and worshipping?
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