An advertisement that aired during the SuperBowl depicted Jesus washing the feet of a variety of Americans across the political divide.
The piece was part of the ‘He Gets Us’ campaign, a series of advertising shorts that attempted to spark discussion about Christianity. The campaign has appeared on television and social media since 2022. It was the first of two pieces that aired during American football’s biggest game of the year.
According to the agency behind the piece, the advertisement was intended to send a message of unity during what is sure to be a controversial election year.
Jason Vanderground, is president of BrandHaven. He told Grand Rapids Business that the first advertisement intended to send a peaceful message.
“We’re trying to be very intentional to build off of last year’s message and instead of showing people fighting, showing people demonstrating what it looks like to love your neighbour,” he said.
Before the Super Bowl, he told reporters, the campaign aimed, “to get the message across to people who are spiritually open, but skeptical.”
Critics of the advertisements, however, have highlighted the high cost of airing them during the Superbowl, along with the conservative funders who bankrolled the piece.
The two pieces cost a combined $100 million to air.
Although the 2024 piece was lead by a new organisation known as Come Near, the ‘He Gets Us’ campaign was initially funded by a subsidiary of The Servant Foundation known as the Signatry.
According to research conducted by Jacobin, The Servant Foundation has donated millions of dollars to the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group. The ADF has previously been linked to pushes to curtail LGBT rights.
