Two ads about Jesus Christ will air during Super Bowl Sunday as a way to appeal to those who may be skeptical.
Jason Vanderground, spokesperson for the “He Gets Us” campaign, told The Associated Press, “It fits with our target audience really well.”
He added, “We’re trying to get the message across to people who are spiritually open, but skeptical.”
Paul Putz, assistant director of Baylor University’s Faith & Sports Institute, pointed out to the outlet that “football players themselves have often been the advertisements for Jesus.”
According to The Associated Press, one “He Gets Us” ad will be premiere during each half of the game.
One of the ads will focus on “how children demonstrate Jesus’ love, while the other deals with anger, and how Jesus modeled a different way,” as the outlet explained.
“We think Jesus is a big deal and we want to make a big deal out of it,” Vanderground said.
He added, “What better way to do that than to put him in the biggest cultural moment that we have the entire year?”
The campaign notably took off in March of last year and is funded by Hobby Lobby CEO David Green and other donors who are anonymous.
“He Gets Us” also shared the announcement on its Twitter page.
“On Feb. 12, the world’s biggest influencer is coming to TV’s biggest stage,” the tweet states.
On Feb. 12, the world's biggest influencer is coming to TV's biggest stage. #HeGetsUs
— HeGetsUs (@HeGetsUs) February 8, 2023
The campaign’s website explains what is at the heart of the slogan.
“How did the story of a man who taught and practiced unconditional love, peace, and kindness; who spent his life defending the poor and the marginalized; a man who even forgave his killers while they executed him unjustly — whose life inspired a radical movement that is still impacting the world thousands of years later — how did this man’s story become associated with hatred and oppression for so many people?” the website asks.
It continues, “And how might we all rediscover the promise of the love his story represents? Those are the questions at the heart of ‘He Gets Us.’”
We've been accused of pushing "our agenda." We thought this might be the right time to make that "agenda" perfectly clear.https://t.co/DzthZGemzn
— HeGetsUs (@HeGetsUs) February 8, 2023
The campaign states the agenda is to “rediscover the love story of Jesus. Christians, non-Christians, and everybody in between. All of us.”
