Christian Advertising

Alex Sims's picture
Submitted by Alex Sims on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 21:01
I’d like to pose a question: What do God-honoring advertisements look like?
 
Let me state a couple disclaimers upfront: First, I know nothing about the advertising industry. I’m writing this question as someone who enjoys watching creative ads, but I don’t pretend to have any special insight. Secondly, I take it as a given that every one of us is deeply influenced by marketing, so I consider advertisements a big deal in our culture. With that said, I’d love to chat about the pitfalls and opportunities of the advertisement industry.
 
The pitfalls in the advertising industry seem to range from the obvious to the subtle. There’s no need to elaborate on the degrading use of lustful images to sell products. And the make-your-neighbor-jealous advertisement narrative is both tired and unbiblical. My point here isn’t to rant against the obvious, so I’ll leave that aside. The more interesting question to me is where to draw that line between “This is a creative product you may enjoy!” and “You need this product to be fulfilled, fit in, and prove yourself!”? This can be a difficult line to discern, and I’m sure it’s a challenging standard to apply when competing with other advertisers who are tugging at our most carnal instincts.
 
I recognize that it is the consumer’s responsibility to determine whether we have the financial resources to buy product X. Nevertheless, it seems to me that marketers are often complicit in encouraging idolatry and foolish consumerism. Put differently: it seems that advertisers often try to sell us on the belief that we need their product to live fulfilled lives.
 
And here is where I believe Christians have a tremendous opportunity to display the lordship of Jesus in the advertising industry: perhaps the gospel could inspire ads that creatively display products with honesty and the appropriate level of hype for the goods being advertised.
 
Please don’t hear me as suggesting that the appropriate level of hype for a product needs to be a subdued level. I’m not promoting stoicism; some products are worth getting pumped up about. Part of a Christian life includes celebrating the inventions that show us the creativity and ingenuity of God’s world. Nevertheless, we need a culture in which we find our identity in Jesus – not in goods and services.
 
It probably takes the wisdom of Solomon to figure out how to produce catchy ads that maintain enough integrity to advertise a product for what it’s worth – no more, no less.

I’d love to hear your comments. Also, if you have an example of an advertisement that you think nailed it, I’d love to hear about it. 

Bookmark/Search this post with
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter