Ad Portrays Christ and Disciples Plotting 'Stunts' to Promote 'Jesus Brand' to Jews
What would Jesus do to promote his message as the Christ to Jews in first century Palestine? According to a tongue-in-cheek video from an ad agency, he might turn to a Canadian production company specializing in stunts.
In a video of "never-seen before original footage of the historic meeting leading to the biggest advertising stunt of all time," Jesus is shown sitting at a wooden table in a stone-hewn room with at least a dozen men gathered around him.
The subject of their discussion: what epic stunt Jesus should do next to increase awareness of his brand among the people.
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"The latest numbers are in and it seems that stunts are performing very, very well for us," says a bald and bearded man sitting at Jesus' left. "Research shows that we've not only increased awareness of the Jesus brand among urban Jews 25-35, but we're also getting great traction with our sub-brands, like the Messiah, Christ, Son of God."
The devoted disciple then pulls out a scroll graphic to show the results of some of Jesus' "stunts," such as turning water into wine, healing the blind, and multiplying fish to feed a multitude.
After turning water into wine and being a big fan of baptism, the natural next step for Jesus to really get his name out there would be for him to walk on water, according to a pitch from another marketing man (or disciple).
But Jesus isn't convinced. He has a thing about "not drowning," which "would be a big plus for humanity."
Thankfully, 1One Production, a Canadian-based company that "architect(s), orchestrate(s) and capture(s) live brand experiences that create an indelible impact on people," has a man at the table.
Can he convince Jesus to take a chance on the walking on water bit?
See how the marketing meeting turns out in the video player at the end of this article.
The 1One Production video was shared widely via Adweek.com, where the article on the video had been posted at least 4,500 times to Facebook.
But what do viewers make of the tongue-in-cheek portrayal of Jesus, whom Christians worship as God incarnate, plotting "stunts," as opposed to, alternatively, discussing the effects of his miracles?
"Hmm. This could be considered demeaning to Christianity," comments one viewer of the video. "Hey, here's an idea. Do the same thing but use the prophet Muhammad instead. Then, let's see what happens."
Another viewer, Thomas Siebert, said that although he found the spot "well made and funny," he was "left with a sour taste."
"If they had shown the character of Jesus more respect, this could have worked. But they condescend to the man while showing mocking contempt for religion. The latter is totally fine and fair, but the man deserves better. Throws out the baby with the blasphemy."
The reason for their approach in the ad, according to 1One Production's Jean-Rene Parenteau, was due to "the evolution of media, and the viewer becoming more intelligent (and cynical) toward traditional advertising."
The video was done in partnership with the lg2 ad agency. Watch it below.
