He Gets Us ad campaign is not what you think
If you watch any sports at all—including the Super Bowl—you have seen advertising from He Gets Us. It looks like it is from an immigrant-friendly, pro-Black organization. DO NOT BE FOOLED.
There's a reason why I say this and why I have a particular interest in it.
I began my academic career 20 years ago writing about the intersection of religion and marketing. Since then (and in truth going back to the Middle Ages and "church merch"), the blending of these institutions has become murkier.
When I first saw the He Gets Us ads during the baseball playoffs, something felt off. These highly produced, black/white commercials were obviously targeting younger demos. My first thought was: commercials for Gen Z? Really?
As I read more, I became more convinced this campaign made no sense. Per press reports, they executed research that led to 4 psychographic groups:
•non-Christians (16% of the sample)
•“spiritually open” (20%)
•“Jesus followers” (34%)
•“engaged Christians” (30%)
The ads target the first 3 groups who said they see Christians as hypocritical (notably around abortion) and as a hate group.
The groups overlap well with Gen Zs, who are the least religiously affiliated--being "nones" or "dones." Also, given the rise in ex-vangelicals (like anti-MLMers, but for evangelicalism), the campaign sort of made sense. But still, not quite.
I decided to break it down like a creative brief based on what they said in the press:
•Objective: to attract people who are skeptical about Christianity but may relate to Jesus.
•Target: “families who desire to see the Jesus of the Bible represented in today’s culture.”
•Product: not defined (Jesus as influencer?)
•Communication: Jesus was fully human
•Tone and manner: edgy, urban
This is when it really started to fall apart. First, families are not front and center. The ads are mostly young and mostly male. There is one about abortion, I'll let you decide if you want to look that up. Second, the media buys skew heavily male. The Super Bowl is for everyone, but this campaign has primarily aired in sports, starting with March Madness. Finally, there is no call to action. Maybe go to the website, but that's lame at best.
What’s the real objective?
According to Chrissy Stroup's excellent article in Religion Dispatches, it has much more to do with Republicans and the evangelicals who support them than bringing people to Jesus.
Important to note, too, is the connection to Koch-backed company Gloo. This marketing company uses "data to help churches target the vulnerable for outreach and conversion." If you want to learn more about that, see the documentary "People You May Know."