He Gets Us

"He Gets Us" is an American religious advertising campaign that was first launched in 2022 by The Servant Christian Foundation, a non-profit composed primarily of anonymous donors.

The campaign's stated goal is to "reintroduce" the "Jesus of the Bible" to younger demographics and religious skeptics via allusions between its teachings and present-day social movements, with an emphasis on values such as inclusion, compassion, and "radical forgiveness".[1] At least US$100 million was initially spent on the campaign, which has included billboards, sponsor placements, and television commercials. The campaign aired multiple spots during the 2022–23 NFL playoffs, including two during Super Bowl LVII.

He Gets Us has faced criticism over the extensive spending by the campaign, its donors' support of anti-abortion and anti-LGBT groups, and disputes over claims that the campaign is apolitical.

Campaign
Ty Gibbs driving the No. 54 He Gets Us car in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The campaign, consisting of billboards, online ads, and television commercials, was rolled out nationally in March 2022.[2] The ads feature imagery and content that create parallels between historical events and present-day social movements to stories of Jesus, and contain themes of inclusivity; a spokesperson stated that its aim was to "reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible", described as "the Jesus of radical forgiveness, compassion, and love."[1]

The campaign primarily targets younger demographics and religious skeptics.[3] It contains allusions to social justice movements, with one ad referring to Jesus as being an "influencer" who was "cancelled" after "[standing] up for something he believed in".[3] AJ Willingham of CNN described the campaign as "portraying the pivotal figure of Christianity as an immigrant, a refugee, a radical, an activist for women’s rights and a bulwark against racial injustice and political corruption".[3]

The campaign promotes itself as being apolitical; Jason Vanderground, a consultant involved with the campaign, described the approach being taken by He Gets Us as one intended to "transcend politics".[4] Although the campaign's public-facing website states that it is not affiliated with any particular sect or church, an outreach website intended for churches and other partners states that it is inspired by the Lausanne Covenant, a founding document of American evangelical Christianity.[3]

He Gets Us has purchased advertising during sporting events, including in-venue sponsor placements, as well as television commercials; three separate ads ran during the 2022–23 NFL playoffs, and the campaign purchased two spots during Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023.[3][5] The campaign has sponsored driver Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing in NASCAR events; during the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, it sponsored his car in two races. When Gibbs moved to the NASCAR Cup Series the following year, He Gets Us agreed to sponsor his car for six races.[6][7]

Funding

The advertisements are funded by The Servant Christian Foundation, a non-profit which is itself financed by donor-advised fund The Signatry; most of the individual donors who provided the money have chosen to remain anonymous.[2] One of the campaign's backers is David Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby.[1][3] $100 million was spent on the campaign initially.[8] Vanderground stated the organization intends to spend a billion dollars on the campaign within the next three years.[1][3]

Reception

Some of the campaign's ads have been viewed millions of times on YouTube,[2] including one named "The Rebel" which was seen 122 million times within a year of its uploading.[3] According to Vanderground, the campaign had reached 100 million people as of October 2022.[8] Its Super Bowl LVII ads generated attention on social media,[9] and caused an increase in Google searches for the campaign during the game.[10]

Outlets such as Jacobin and CNN have noted the incongruity between the campaign's professed values and those of its donors, who have also given money to anti-abortion and anti-LGBT organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom,[1][11] which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).[9][10] In response to its television commercials, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued that Jesus "would not spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign".[9][10][12]

Critics have similarly disputed the campaign's claims of being apolitical, noting allusions to themes and terminology used by conservatives such as cancel culture;[3][4] Josiah R. Daniels of Sojourners disputed its equation of cancel culture to crucifixion, explaining that "on one side, people are coming to terms with their lives after experiencing consequences; on the other, people are being executed because of their low standing in society." Daniels also argued that "whether they recognize or admit it, it is practically impossible to be apolitical when it comes to the issues referenced on their site. Furthermore, imagining Jesus as apolitical is itself a political decision — and it is a decision that aligns with politically and financially powerful interests."[4] Contrarily, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk criticized the campaign for promoting liberal and left-wing values, referring to its backers as "woke tricksters".[3][10]

The campaign has been criticized for deemphasizing biblical teachings,[3][4][5][13] and for its expenditures into promoting Jesus as a "brand" (drawing comparisons to megachurches and large-scale events).[3][4][5]

References
  1. Perez, Andrew (6 February 2023). "The Far Right Is Funding Evangelical Super Bowl Sunday Ads". Jacobin Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  2. Baer, Maria (11 March 2023). "$100M Ad Campaign Aims to Make Jesus the 'Biggest Brand in Your City'". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  3. Willingham, A. J. (11 February 2023). "The truth behind the 'He Gets Us' ads for Jesus airing during the Super Bowl". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  4. Daniels, Josiah R. (8 February 2023). "What 'He Gets Us' Ads Get Wrong About Jesus". Sojourners. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  5. Meyer, Holly (9 February 2023). "Super Bowl ads will tout Jesus 'gets us' to the masses". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  6. Dallas, Kelsey (3 March 2023). "This Jesus-focused ad campaign isn't done with sports". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  7. Staff Writer (March 1, 2023). "He Gets Us campaign to sponsor Ty Gibbs in six races". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  8. Smietana, Bob (12 October 2022). "A $100 million campaign aims to fix Jesus' brand from followers' damage". Washington Post. Religion News Service. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  9. Lacques, Gabe (14 February 2023). "How were the Super Bowl commercials for Jesus Christ received? 'He Gets Us' ran ads during the big game". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  10. Wendling, Mike (14 February 2023). ""He gets us" Super Bowl Jesus commercial angers both left and right". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  11. Featherstone, Liza (12 February 2023). "The Jesus of Tonight's Super Bowl Ads Can't Be Found in Right-Wing Churches". Jacobin Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  12. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [@AOC] (2023-02-12). "Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2023-02-16 – via Twitter.
  13. Cooper, Michael; Harbour, Matthew (March 2023). "The Jesus of "He Gets Us:" Sorting Our Christology". Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society. 3 (1): 1–19. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-15 – via JEMS.
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