“He Gets Us,” the Jesus rebranding campaign from The Servant Christian Foundation, released its two in-game commercials hours before kickoff.
The campaign comes from Lerma/, which created the ads alongside marketing firm Haven.
Special Report: Super Bowl
Watch the two Jesus Super Bowl ads—‘He Gets Us’ campaign comes to the Big Game
The ‘Be Childlike’ and ‘Love Your Enemies’ ads continue effort to rebrand Jesus for a mass audience
One “He Gets Us” ad shows children's acts of kindness such as shielding a cat from the rain.
Credit:
He Gets Us
One ad, called “Be Childlike,” shows black-and-white images and videos of children hugging, laughing and cooperating, including one scene in which a boy helps his friend reach a bathroom urinal. It is backed by Patsy Cline's “If I Could See the World.” The message “Jesus didn’t want us to act like adults” precedes the tagline, “He Gets Us.”
The second ad is called “Love Your Enemies,” and features scenes of adult conflict, including people yelling at each other, backed by the song “Human” from Rag'n'Bone Man. “Jesus loved the people we hate,” states the text at the end.
Both ads were not expected to be released until they aired in-game, but the campaign unexpectedly debuted them early on its website.
While the broader campaign has gotten significant airtime in recent months—and fits the style of the two new spots—the campaign’s Super Bowl appearance will surely spark plenty of conversation, including on social media, as it airs to an audience that is expected to approach 100 million people.
Already, much media coverage has been dedicated to dissecting who is supporting the campaign.
“He Gets Us” received funding for the ad from the Signatry/Servant Foundation, which also reportedly donated millions of dollars to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit that has led policy fights to roll back abortion rights and allow businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ customers.
Lerma/ Founder Pedro Lerma said before the ads aired that “LERMA/ was founded on inclusivity and our work on this campaign reflects that.”
To be sure, the ads skirt politically divisive issues such as abortion, and focus on more universal themes of love and kindness.
The campaign today promoted the ads on Twitter, including with a video showing a representative on the ground in Arizona during pregame festivities.
