Jesus Sells: Introduction
If you're a good Christian, why wouldn't Jesus endorse your products or services?
| Introduction | | | Judeo-Christian Advert Ideas | | | Pagan Advert Ideas |
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By: The Mystic | 05April2001
I've noticed this phenomenon for some time now and it is entirely possible that I just don't understand the
point. Or maybe I'm just too sensitive or something...
I think I understand the Jesus fish plaque commonly found on cars. It means the driver (or the owner, at least) is claiming allegiance to Jesus, i.e., s/he is a Christian. However, when I see the same symbol -- or something similar -- on a mechanic's business sign or a plumber's yellow page advertisement, what does that mean? Obviously it means exactly the same thing -- that the owner of the business is a Jesus fan -- but is it supposed to imply something else? Who else thinks that using one's religious beliefs as a business come-on might be at least tacky, and possibly a bit shifty? What is a Jesus fish in an advert or on a sign supposed to communicate to the consumer, precisely? Possibilities:
If you think the third possibility above -- implying that Jesus endorses a business -- is remote, consider how politics has become intermingled with religion. During the past few presidential elections, some fundamentalist Christian leaders seemed to imply that their God is a Republican, and that a vote for certain candidates was a vote for the Devil. It doesn't take much more of a leap to go from claiming that God has endorsed a presidential candidate to implying that if Jesus had a leak, he'd call Chastain Plumbing and he would buy used clothing from Nearly Nu. Maybe these local businesses (I don't recall seeing national chains doing the same thing) aren't really attempting to make consumers believe Jesus would literally endorse their business. Even so, wasn't there supposed to be some kind of principle established about mixing religion and business when Christ threw people out of the temple for exchanging currency and selling sacrificial animals? At the very least, if these businesspersons feel they need to appeal to Christian camaraderie to stay in business, it might be because there's something wrong with their quality or their prices. It's worth thinking about, at least, before you start taking money out of your wallet. It is also possible that I am finding fault where there is none. If so... if it is perfectly OK to use your belief system to help sell goods and services, I've got a few ideas on how some might be able to capitalize on deities in the future.
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I remember a time when automobile companies tried to appeal to American patriotism in an attempt to sell
cars with American-sounding names: Ford, Chrysler, General Motors. These started out as American companies,
but for years -- even when they were pushing patriotism -- most of the automotive companies had already
become multinational. I knew at the time that the reason they had to try to hook consumers on the basis
of nationalism was because their quality wasn't generally as good as cars with Japanese-sounding name plates.
| Introduction | | | Judeo-Christian Advert Ideas | | | Pagan Advert Ideas |
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