Is it wrong to advertise against God?
It's the big story in Toronto today and the TTC (our public transportation system administrators here) are in the process of answering that question.
A group called the Freethought Association of Canada (http://freethoughtassociation.ca/n2ew/) are going to place adverts in Toronto buses stating "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
Provoked yet?
Now, religious advertising on the transit system is nothing new. A group calling itself Bus Stop Bible Studies (http://www.busstopbiblestudies.com/) have been advertising for a while now. And no one ever seemed to raise a stink about Bible verses hanging over their heads on the commute to work.
Religious groups are –of course- poised to protest the Freethought Association for what they deem to be offensive advertising. But I would caution them against that.
This is a golden opportunity for religious groups to reach out and engage in the kind of marketing push God really needs right now.
Let's be honest. It's been a tough time for The Supreme Being. Holy Wars, cultural shifts, value changes have all left the Big Guy a little deflated. If anyone needs a re-branding, it's God.
Part of the reason for the God Brand being hurt, is that he's been marketed wrong for years now. Old man with beard, angry deity demanding sacrifice, dispassionate omnipotent force calling for judgement. Doesn't exactly make you want to rush to church.
But those that know their stuff, know that that isn't what God is about. And it's time that they start re-introducing us to Him. What better way than an advertising campaign?
I ask –and I challenge- religious groups of all kinds to take up the cause and fire back with a pithy ad of their own. Find a marketing firm that will rise to the occasion, and launch a counter strike. This could be the most important series of advertisements since Pepsi and Coke went at it during the 1980s.
God has always been marketed. "Our god is better than your god" is probably the oldest slogan in history. "God is great" is really just a religious company motto.
Religious groups should see this as a chance to reconnect people to the God that inspired people to great things: for Jesus to love his enemies, for Muhammad to demand social justice, for Ghandi to seek peaceful means to an end.
Marketing God is just another exercise in sophisticated branding. The marketing of God is not about proving His existence. It's about relaying the experience of the divine, and the transformational power He's had throughout history.
People say that Coke is the biggest brand in advertising. Somehow –after today- I think they are wrong.
Yusuf Gad
President, a5MEDIA inc
4 comments:
We've recieved a lot of emails about this post! Keep 'em coming!
I can't help but thinking two things....
1)There must be a non-profit org. somewhere that could use the money they'll be spending on this campaign.
2) Who do the non-believers scream out to when they climax.
Hello Anonymous!
Technically, I believe the Freethinkers groups IS a non profit, but I know what you mean.
Personally, I think they are doing what they believe is the right thing to do, although I do disagree with their definition of God.
What do they call out in bed? I'll let you know when I find out. :-)
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