Millions to witness the Gospel at the Super Bowl through 'He Gets Us' campaign
This year, the Gospel will reach millions watching the Super Bowl LVII through an ad campaign titled “He Gets Us,” which highlights the humanity of Jesus Christ.
The campaign was launched in 2022 to reach people with the truth of the Gospel through TV, radio, digital ads, billboards and experiential platforms. With a $100 million budget, the ads highlight the humanity of Jesus, showing how He “was a refugee, had disdain for hypocrisy, and was also unfairly judged like other marginalized members of modern society.”
WXMI-TV reports that Haven, a branding firm based in Grand Haven, Michigan, has spent $20 million to run a 30-second "He Gets Us" ad in the first half and a 60-second ad in the second half of the Super Bowl. An estimated 100 million-plus people are expected to watch the broadcast this Sunday.
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“Our hope is that you see how Jesus experienced challenges and emotions just like we have. We want to provide a safe place to ask questions, including the tough ones,” the campaign's website states.
“We are also about sharing Jesus’ openness to people that others might have excluded. His message went out to all. And though you may see religious people as often hypocritical or judgmental, know that Jesus saw that too — and didn’t like it either. Instead, Jesus taught and offered radical compassion and stood up for the marginalized.”
The ads are reportedly funded in part by the family that owns Hobby Lobby as well as other Evangelical groups, including a foundation called The Signatry, a foundation based in Overland Park, Kansas. The Luis Palau Association and the National Association of Evangelicals, along with other organizations, have joined the movement, according to CBN.
Jason Vanderground, president of Haven, told Religion News Service in an October interview that the movement “hopes to bridge the gap between the story of Jesus and the public perception of his followers.”
“Jesus said, ‘People are going to know my followers by the way they love each other and the way they interact with each other,’ ” Vanderground said. “I think when we look at American Christianity now, we don’t see nearly as much of that — and that concerns a lot of people.”
Jon Lee, one of the chief architects of the campaign, told the outlet that the goal is to “give voice to the pent-up energy of like-minded Jesus followers, those who are in the pews and the ones that aren’t, who are ready to reclaim the name of Jesus from those who abuse it to judge, harm and divide people.”
Already, the ads have been seen by an estimated 100 million people thanks to billboards in New York and Las Vegas, banner ads online and other mediums. Previous ads have aired during the NFL playoffs, MLB games and March Madness.
About 30,000 have signed up for Bible reading plans as a result of the campaign, according to Vanderground.
“Our research shows that many people’s only exposure to Jesus is through Christians who reflect him imperfectly, and too often in ways that create a distorted or incomplete picture of his radical compassion and love for others,” Vanderground said. “We believe it’s more important now than ever for the real, authentic Jesus to be represented in the public marketplace as he is in the Bible.”
All of the advertisements point people to the "He Gets Us" campaign website.
“Our hope is that you see how Jesus experienced challenges and emotions just like we have. We want to provide a safe place to ask questions, including the tough ones,” the website says.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]
