Does anyone wonder; how much they fear us? We are the stones under their shoes that causes them to stumble. We are the upholders of the belief that people deserve good lives, and we work within the law to try and make it happen... No one group in the U.S. has made the lives of black and brown people and Natives better, but we try... and we know who they are who want to make all of our lives miserable so they can make ever more money. There was a bumper sticker in the 70's or 80's; He who dies with the most toys wins. It boggles my mind that this is their ambition, oh well that and enslaving the rest of us!
Is it that, as Warren Buffett said, “after a certain, relatively small amount of money is attained, it all becomes a game…”!(Paraphrasing), or more that their being able to continue the game, depends on our not knowing what is happening to us…? Both I would guess…. And the conditioning that prevents us from realizing, begins very young, religion being one of the more effective tools, the quality and design of our compulsory education system, another… built in exhaustion/sleep deprivation connected with “working” long hours, when shorter hours render almost the same in production… food that fails to actually nourish…. Religious concepts like devils and demons and everlasting hell, introduced to the young at a trusting, easily impressionable age… Seems evermore like deliberate “brainwashing “…
I know these people. I was raised in a church that did things like use kids to lure people into the park for a free concert. There'd be a half hour of a group singing pop music, then the audience would be clobbered with a fundamentalist sermon, ending with an alter call. We'd be turned loose in shopping malls, beaches and neighborhoods to hand out pamphlets and give witness. Even as a child, I was so conflicted and humiliated. On some level, I think I understood that it was wrong to bend people to my church's will. It all makes me cringe to think back on it. This is powerful stuff! Deep pockets out bid the will of the people, once again.
I've been seeing these ads for some time on Hulu, which I use for live TV. I admit they are warm and convincing. Having said that I had a sinking feeling and wondered what or who was behind it. I've learned to keep a skeptical eye on these things. Thank you, Jay, for researching and revealing the truth behind this.
Yeah, I felt the same when I first saw the ads last year. Really made me wonder how they could afford these big ads and figured there must be some big conservative Christian groups backing them.
How could anyone think that "Jesus loved the people we hate” is a good tagline? People we HATE? I thought one of the tenets of Christianity was to "love thy neighbor." This is sheer craziness. I have never been happier to be an atheist!
Thank you Nancy and note the script "people WE [emphasis added] hate". That's a very clumsy effort to identify with Ad readers or should I say the "targeted market"?
So the Jesus of the Bible served and preached the serving of the underserved, the forgotten, the "unclean". Even in the times this was written, this was a radical concept. The point is here is that the Jesus of the Bible lives the person you were cursing at in traffic, the person you disparaged on social media (or who disaraged you). The point here is, if you hate someone, Jesus doesn't just disagree with you, he does the opposite, he loves them. It's an ironic point when you look at the people funding it.
So, the "Christians" spent $20 million on an ad rather than maybe giving that money to the poor, or possibly sending it to Turkey and Syria. Ridiculous waste of money.
Thank you-thank you-thank you! The Jesus ads during the Super Bowl prompted me to ask the same questions you asked—and answered! I’m one of those people who reads the tiny print at the bottom of political ads, only to find they are funded by some anonymous “Foundation” or “Alliance.” I’m never able to find out who’s behind these organizations, and it drive me nuts! I think of the tens of thousands—literally millions, if you add them all up—of dollars spent on these ads and the good that money could do for some legitimate non-profits. It’s obscene. As for the messaging? Troubling to put it mildly. FYI, I signed up for your newsletters a while back, figuring I’d take a free trial for a while and see how things go. Today, I decided I’ll become a paid subscriber.
Thank you for subscribing! Times are a bit tight, with Elon Musk having eviscerated our business, but we are managing to get by. The support of readers here is enormously helpful through this tough time.
He didn’t destroy the newsletter business, but he took the legs out from our video content business on Twitter. We used to generate around half of our income from pre-roll ads on our video pieces that we created on Twitter for our audiences there. But Elon let back on the platform all these alt-right, neo-Nazi types, and the advertisers fled. Business fell by 80% along with revenues. I had to lay off nearly all our video department and took a 66% pay cut just so we could stay afloat longer while we figured out a way through. It’s been so stressful, all because of one man-baby billionaire.
We don’t have much of an audience developed there so it would take years to achieve. On Twitter we had over 17 million followers in the accounts we managed. We lost one of our major clients after Elon destroyed the core advertising base, and now we are trying to rebuild with new partners. It’s not easy…
Thanks for writing about this. I was in bed by 930 and missed most of the game so I didn't see the commercials.
I've been seeing the He Gets Us billboards and ads a lot over the last few years. As a lapsed catholic I have no intention to ever join any church again. But I'm glad to know what they stand for and who backs them. All you had to say was Hobby Lobby. They have been on my boycott list since the contraception injustice.
Exactly right! One. Big. Deception. If you're not already clued into the word "Dominionism", it's a good one to tune in to. Jenny Cohn writes a lot about it on Twitter and in the Bucks County Beacon. It's scary beyond-evangelicalism stuff.
Scott & John thank you for the important Link & 'dominionism's push for a "WILD" meeting on J6 between "10 am & 6 pm" at the Capitol. Jesus for sedition?
I hope my missing the horses didn’t come across as trite - in fact I am thinking of telling the other Super Bowl advertisers that I will personally turn away from their products. They are running in a crowd with hateful frightening people intent on destroying our country.
Jays post here is an excellent based for frank talks with my children and grandchildren about why it is important to follow the golden rule - find out who owns the gold because they seek to rule.
This whole thing disgusts me. If they really wanted to follow Jesus' message, imagine how many people they could feed with those millions! Or any number of charitable acts this money could fund!
Last night, during the Super Bowl, was the first time I saw this ad, and I immediately turned to the small group I was watching with and said: "What was that? What is it doing on FOX? And what exactly is it advertising? We were all scratching our heads and joked: Must be an ad about CHEESES! We sure like CHEESES!
Seriously, do they not have any shame!? Now they are using the teachings of Jesus to manipulate and gaslight!?! That is what I suspected was happening, especially as it aired on FOX.
Let's admit it. The ads made their points. Jay pushes back by revealing the money behind these ads and how the financial supporters have hidden and not so hidden agendum. But, how does one push back against the content of the ads themselves? Do 'we need ads' that show the hate against racial and cultural minorities, like for example, showing Charlottesville , shootings, etc. with voice over about how this is contemporary hate and Jesus would be outspoken against this. This ad campaign is part of a full time pushback on cultural issues, not simply a hobby (pun intended)
1. The money spent here could have been used to help the people they depict in the ads
2. The Jesus of the Bible did not involve himself with politics
3. The Jesus of the Bible lives among, and advocated for, marginalized groups of the time. Immigrants. Refugees. Jesus wouldn't be doing stunts or building walls at the Southern Border. He would have been healing (healthcare), feeding, and praying with them.
4. The Jesus of the Bible was opposed to the "rich". Parable of the rich ruler is the best example of this but there are others.
I loved your points. I hope it’s ok to disagree with you on item 2. Jesus did engage the local politicians in the form of the Temple leaders who were servile to Rome in order to continue to worship as they wished. As long as they kept the peace and avoided Roman attention, they were allowed to worship their God instead of Caesar. Jesus called them out on their hypocrisy. He also encouraged his followers to be good citizens (“Render unto Caesar...”), but to recognize citizenship in the kingdom of God as first priority over citizenship in the temporal world. He didn’t hide from Herod or Pontius Pilate, but submitted to their earthly authority, albeit acknowledging its source as God. He fulfilled Mary’s song in the Magnificat when he became the one to “cast down the mighty from their thrones and lift up the lowly. He filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” He set love as the highest law and called on his followers to love their neighbors, no matter who they worshiped, how they lived or loved, no matter their race or creed. All of that was quite contrary to Temple teaching and Roman law. He didn’t fight-he showed them what was better.
I do know the references you bring up, but let me push back on them a little. Even in the garden of Gethsemane, right before he was taken to be crucified, he chastised those who fought back and, as you stated, submitted to Pilate and the authorities.
This is similar to several Old Testament stories of the faithful submitting to authority (as part of their faith) - Daniel and the lions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are both good examples of this. There are others.
He did engage with politicians, especially local temple leaders several times. His supporters were stunned when he was crucified, as they thought he would essentially replace the Roman rule and restore Jerasulem and Israel to Jewish rule. But that wasn't ever his biblical purpose, or the ministry in the Bible. Those these days (or in any days) that believe he would support certain candidates over others,or would really be involved in politics at all, haven't read the Bible (or don't understand it, or cherry pick the verses they like and disregard the rest).
Totally with you on this! I think some of the hardest moments as a believer in these past years has been with the weaponization of Jesus and his words and actions and how that affects others’ thoughts about Christianity. Franklin Graham, Pence, and all those who are seen as godly men and yet encourage and endorse prejudice and hate and ugly behavior are NOT representing the faith or my Lord as I know and believe.
This idea of the USA as a Christian nation is another concept that is painful. Considering real American history, it’s a lie to think that any one faith expression, or any faith at all, is paramount in our nation. I’m just so very exhausted. I’m an ELCA pastor in a deeply red Florida-I just don’t belong. Even people whom I love and respect as people of good will have me questioning everything I know about them when they talk GOP points. It’s not for me to judge them, but I really fail to see how we can agree to disagree on such fundamental issues as immigration, Covid truth, lgbtq rights, education, and more-it all comes down to the question-is this loving or is it not? If not, it is not of Christ.
Hey-Matthew-thank you for this! It’s so nice to share in a safe space. Thank you. Peace be yours!
Made their "points" or reached a percentage of their targeted market after market testing in much softer markets? I would like to see the Ads that were REJECTED for the mass national football gathering or were "successful" in other states.
And what else could they be doing with that $20 million? Feed children? House the homeless? Provide health care?
$20M? What could $1B do? From the essay: A three year, one BILLION dollar ad campaign.
We’re just seeing the beginning.
PAY TAXES! They are a business!
Does anyone wonder; how much they fear us? We are the stones under their shoes that causes them to stumble. We are the upholders of the belief that people deserve good lives, and we work within the law to try and make it happen... No one group in the U.S. has made the lives of black and brown people and Natives better, but we try... and we know who they are who want to make all of our lives miserable so they can make ever more money. There was a bumper sticker in the 70's or 80's; He who dies with the most toys wins. It boggles my mind that this is their ambition, oh well that and enslaving the rest of us!
Is it that, as Warren Buffett said, “after a certain, relatively small amount of money is attained, it all becomes a game…”!(Paraphrasing), or more that their being able to continue the game, depends on our not knowing what is happening to us…? Both I would guess…. And the conditioning that prevents us from realizing, begins very young, religion being one of the more effective tools, the quality and design of our compulsory education system, another… built in exhaustion/sleep deprivation connected with “working” long hours, when shorter hours render almost the same in production… food that fails to actually nourish…. Religious concepts like devils and demons and everlasting hell, introduced to the young at a trusting, easily impressionable age… Seems evermore like deliberate “brainwashing “…
I know these people. I was raised in a church that did things like use kids to lure people into the park for a free concert. There'd be a half hour of a group singing pop music, then the audience would be clobbered with a fundamentalist sermon, ending with an alter call. We'd be turned loose in shopping malls, beaches and neighborhoods to hand out pamphlets and give witness. Even as a child, I was so conflicted and humiliated. On some level, I think I understood that it was wrong to bend people to my church's will. It all makes me cringe to think back on it. This is powerful stuff! Deep pockets out bid the will of the people, once again.
At least, you survived with the coherence to realize what happened, and the benevolence to use your experience to create awareness…
I've been seeing these ads for some time on Hulu, which I use for live TV. I admit they are warm and convincing. Having said that I had a sinking feeling and wondered what or who was behind it. I've learned to keep a skeptical eye on these things. Thank you, Jay, for researching and revealing the truth behind this.
Yeah, I felt the same when I first saw the ads last year. Really made me wonder how they could afford these big ads and figured there must be some big conservative Christian groups backing them.
How could anyone think that "Jesus loved the people we hate” is a good tagline? People we HATE? I thought one of the tenets of Christianity was to "love thy neighbor." This is sheer craziness. I have never been happier to be an atheist!
It sure rings hollow to me
Thank you Nancy and note the script "people WE [emphasis added] hate". That's a very clumsy effort to identify with Ad readers or should I say the "targeted market"?
So the Jesus of the Bible served and preached the serving of the underserved, the forgotten, the "unclean". Even in the times this was written, this was a radical concept. The point is here is that the Jesus of the Bible lives the person you were cursing at in traffic, the person you disparaged on social media (or who disaraged you). The point here is, if you hate someone, Jesus doesn't just disagree with you, he does the opposite, he loves them. It's an ironic point when you look at the people funding it.
Seriously, that jumped out at me as well
So, the "Christians" spent $20 million on an ad rather than maybe giving that money to the poor, or possibly sending it to Turkey and Syria. Ridiculous waste of money.
Thank you-thank you-thank you! The Jesus ads during the Super Bowl prompted me to ask the same questions you asked—and answered! I’m one of those people who reads the tiny print at the bottom of political ads, only to find they are funded by some anonymous “Foundation” or “Alliance.” I’m never able to find out who’s behind these organizations, and it drive me nuts! I think of the tens of thousands—literally millions, if you add them all up—of dollars spent on these ads and the good that money could do for some legitimate non-profits. It’s obscene. As for the messaging? Troubling to put it mildly. FYI, I signed up for your newsletters a while back, figuring I’d take a free trial for a while and see how things go. Today, I decided I’ll become a paid subscriber.
Thank you for subscribing! Times are a bit tight, with Elon Musk having eviscerated our business, but we are managing to get by. The support of readers here is enormously helpful through this tough time.
How has Elon Musk been able to eviscerate your newsletter business?
He didn’t destroy the newsletter business, but he took the legs out from our video content business on Twitter. We used to generate around half of our income from pre-roll ads on our video pieces that we created on Twitter for our audiences there. But Elon let back on the platform all these alt-right, neo-Nazi types, and the advertisers fled. Business fell by 80% along with revenues. I had to lay off nearly all our video department and took a 66% pay cut just so we could stay afloat longer while we figured out a way through. It’s been so stressful, all because of one man-baby billionaire.
Oh no! Thank you for sharing the details and this is terrible! Is there an opportunity to replicate your business model on YouTube?
We don’t have much of an audience developed there so it would take years to achieve. On Twitter we had over 17 million followers in the accounts we managed. We lost one of our major clients after Elon destroyed the core advertising base, and now we are trying to rebuild with new partners. It’s not easy…
Super Bowl ads cost about $7M for 30 seconds. More/less depending on exactly when during the show.
Trying to sell Jesus while telling us they hate people, is quite an interesting strategy.
Their usual bizarre pretzel illogic. #KochNetwork
Exactly! I don't understand that train of thought - at all.
Thanks for writing about this. I was in bed by 930 and missed most of the game so I didn't see the commercials.
I've been seeing the He Gets Us billboards and ads a lot over the last few years. As a lapsed catholic I have no intention to ever join any church again. But I'm glad to know what they stand for and who backs them. All you had to say was Hobby Lobby. They have been on my boycott list since the contraception injustice.
Exactly right! One. Big. Deception. If you're not already clued into the word "Dominionism", it's a good one to tune in to. Jenny Cohn writes a lot about it on Twitter and in the Bucks County Beacon. It's scary beyond-evangelicalism stuff.
https://buckscountybeacon.com/2022/10/dominionism-is-on-the-ballot-in-november-but-most-voters-have-never-heard-of-it/
Woah. I not know about this group. The name “dominion” sounds right out of Star Trek as a morality play (because it is).
Scott & John thank you for the important Link & 'dominionism's push for a "WILD" meeting on J6 between "10 am & 6 pm" at the Capitol. Jesus for sedition?
Interesting (and scary) article.
Also, @brucewilson @Tentoads4truth @dailykos @anelsona #ShadowNetwork @NancyMacLean5 #DemocracyInChains @JaneMayerNYer #DarkMoney @truthout @pressprogress etc.
I hope my missing the horses didn’t come across as trite - in fact I am thinking of telling the other Super Bowl advertisers that I will personally turn away from their products. They are running in a crowd with hateful frightening people intent on destroying our country.
Jays post here is an excellent based for frank talks with my children and grandchildren about why it is important to follow the golden rule - find out who owns the gold because they seek to rule.
I am afraid for our future ...
This whole thing disgusts me. If they really wanted to follow Jesus' message, imagine how many people they could feed with those millions! Or any number of charitable acts this money could fund!
Thank you. Clear and intelligent, as usual. Always follow the money.
Wouldn't it be a better if all this money was spent helping those in need??
The money IS helping those in need ...THEMSELVES.
Yes!
Last night, during the Super Bowl, was the first time I saw this ad, and I immediately turned to the small group I was watching with and said: "What was that? What is it doing on FOX? And what exactly is it advertising? We were all scratching our heads and joked: Must be an ad about CHEESES! We sure like CHEESES!
Seriously, do they not have any shame!? Now they are using the teachings of Jesus to manipulate and gaslight!?! That is what I suspected was happening, especially as it aired on FOX.
Thank you, Jay, for confirming my suspicions!
At least CHEESES can be holy.
JFC...
Let's admit it. The ads made their points. Jay pushes back by revealing the money behind these ads and how the financial supporters have hidden and not so hidden agendum. But, how does one push back against the content of the ads themselves? Do 'we need ads' that show the hate against racial and cultural minorities, like for example, showing Charlottesville , shootings, etc. with voice over about how this is contemporary hate and Jesus would be outspoken against this. This ad campaign is part of a full time pushback on cultural issues, not simply a hobby (pun intended)
Several ways:
1. The money spent here could have been used to help the people they depict in the ads
2. The Jesus of the Bible did not involve himself with politics
3. The Jesus of the Bible lives among, and advocated for, marginalized groups of the time. Immigrants. Refugees. Jesus wouldn't be doing stunts or building walls at the Southern Border. He would have been healing (healthcare), feeding, and praying with them.
4. The Jesus of the Bible was opposed to the "rich". Parable of the rich ruler is the best example of this but there are others.
I loved your points. I hope it’s ok to disagree with you on item 2. Jesus did engage the local politicians in the form of the Temple leaders who were servile to Rome in order to continue to worship as they wished. As long as they kept the peace and avoided Roman attention, they were allowed to worship their God instead of Caesar. Jesus called them out on their hypocrisy. He also encouraged his followers to be good citizens (“Render unto Caesar...”), but to recognize citizenship in the kingdom of God as first priority over citizenship in the temporal world. He didn’t hide from Herod or Pontius Pilate, but submitted to their earthly authority, albeit acknowledging its source as God. He fulfilled Mary’s song in the Magnificat when he became the one to “cast down the mighty from their thrones and lift up the lowly. He filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” He set love as the highest law and called on his followers to love their neighbors, no matter who they worshiped, how they lived or loved, no matter their race or creed. All of that was quite contrary to Temple teaching and Roman law. He didn’t fight-he showed them what was better.
It's always ok to disagree.
I do know the references you bring up, but let me push back on them a little. Even in the garden of Gethsemane, right before he was taken to be crucified, he chastised those who fought back and, as you stated, submitted to Pilate and the authorities.
This is similar to several Old Testament stories of the faithful submitting to authority (as part of their faith) - Daniel and the lions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are both good examples of this. There are others.
He did engage with politicians, especially local temple leaders several times. His supporters were stunned when he was crucified, as they thought he would essentially replace the Roman rule and restore Jerasulem and Israel to Jewish rule. But that wasn't ever his biblical purpose, or the ministry in the Bible. Those these days (or in any days) that believe he would support certain candidates over others,or would really be involved in politics at all, haven't read the Bible (or don't understand it, or cherry pick the verses they like and disregard the rest).
Totally with you on this! I think some of the hardest moments as a believer in these past years has been with the weaponization of Jesus and his words and actions and how that affects others’ thoughts about Christianity. Franklin Graham, Pence, and all those who are seen as godly men and yet encourage and endorse prejudice and hate and ugly behavior are NOT representing the faith or my Lord as I know and believe.
This idea of the USA as a Christian nation is another concept that is painful. Considering real American history, it’s a lie to think that any one faith expression, or any faith at all, is paramount in our nation. I’m just so very exhausted. I’m an ELCA pastor in a deeply red Florida-I just don’t belong. Even people whom I love and respect as people of good will have me questioning everything I know about them when they talk GOP points. It’s not for me to judge them, but I really fail to see how we can agree to disagree on such fundamental issues as immigration, Covid truth, lgbtq rights, education, and more-it all comes down to the question-is this loving or is it not? If not, it is not of Christ.
Hey-Matthew-thank you for this! It’s so nice to share in a safe space. Thank you. Peace be yours!
Made their "points" or reached a percentage of their targeted market after market testing in much softer markets? I would like to see the Ads that were REJECTED for the mass national football gathering or were "successful" in other states.
🤮
Good points. For Iowa TV markets, these ads probably worked