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The Super Bowl commercial on Christianity, showing scenes of people washing others’ feet as Jesus did in the Bible, is facing attacks from the left because of the campaign’s connection to the billionaire family that owns Hobby Lobby.
THE “He understands us” campaign, dedicated to encouraging people “to rediscover and share the fascinating story of Jesus’ life in a new way,” according to its website, hosted a 60-second spot that aired during the first quarter of the Chiefs game from Kansas City and San Francisco. 49ers, as well as a 15-second spot in the second half of the CBS and Univision broadcasts, Rolling Stone reported.
The first ad, titled “Foot Washing”, featured images taken by international fine art photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten, including one of a young man washing the feet of an elderly family member at the dinner table, a police officer washing the feet of a black man, a woman washing the feet of a young woman outside a family planning clinic, and a white woman washing the feet of a migrant after arriving by bus from Chicago.
An oil worker is seen washing the feet of a “clean air now” protester, and a priest is seen washing the feet of a suspected gay man.
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“Christ washing the disciples’ feet”, circa 1520/1525. Artist Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo. (Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images/Getty Images)
It ended with the slogan: “Jesus did not teach hatred. He washed the feet. » The shorter ad, titled “Know Your Neighbor,” which aired in the second quarter, showed several still images of people, including a homeless woman begging at a car window. He asked: “Who is my neighbor? » then said: “The one you don’t notice, don’t appreciate and don’t welcome. The ad simply ends with the word “Jesus.”
According to the “He Gets Us” website, this year’s “Foot Washing” ad was intended to contrast with the 2023 TV spot, “Love Your Enemies,” which showed politicians shouting during a debate or parents shouting at each other during a debate. beating during a youth football match.
The 2024 campaign aimed to “focus on the opposite theme of last year’s advertising, built on the principle of love and unity. And with an upcoming election year that will be filled with division and derision, we have decided to focus on one of the most important directives given by Jesus: love your neighbor,” the website states.
Greg Miller, a campaign spokesperson, told Rolling Stone that the campaign would “focus on love our neighbor like Jesus didencouraging people to respect and serve each other. »
Hobby Lobby co-founder David Green told conservative host Glenn Beck that his family and other Christian donors financially support “He Gets Us,” a national campaign dedicated to reintroducing the brand of Jesus as savior of Christianity. Rolling Stone reported this month that documents show that Green’s eldest son, Mart, Hobby Lobby’s “ministry chief investment officer,” is one of three board members of the new organization to non-profit which manages the advertising campaign.
David Green and his family are worth approximately $15.3 billion, according to a Forbes projection.
Left-wing commenters on TikTok and other social media platforms appeared to mock the ad and expressed displeasure over the Hobby Lobby founder’s connection to the campaign.
They challenged Hobby Lobby’s fight against the contraception requirement under the Affordable Care Act in federal court. The Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that requiring family-owned businesses to cover insurance for birth control and other contraception violated a federal law protecting religious freedom.
Steve Green, co-founder of the Museum of the Bible and president of Hobby Lobby, speaks during the dedication ceremony for the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, November 17, 2017. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In response to the Super Bowl Jesus ad campaign, other users also called Hobby Lobby anti-LGBTQ, taking issue with the arts and crafts store banning a transgender employee, born male , to use a woman’s toilet. An Illinois appeals court ordered Hobby Lobby to pay this transgender employee $220,000 in 2021, ruling that the arts and crafts store violated the state’s Human Rights Act. State.
Of all the 2024 Super Bowl ads, the Washington Post called the “He Gets Us” campaign “the most controversial.” According to the Post, the ads were supposed to “promote the teachings of Jesus and unite different groups of people. But unsurprisingly, all they did was foment hostility.”
Last year, the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State also criticized the “He Gets Us” campaign, accusing “the ‘Jesus Ads’ of serving as a front for Christian nationalism.”
USA Today reported that the “He Gets Us” campaign was launched by the Servant Foundation, also known as The Signatry, a Kansas-based nonprofit, in 2022.
A video board displays an advertisement for Monday’s Super Bowl LVIII opening night at Allegiant Stadium on February 1, 2024 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/Getty Images)
However, the “He Gets Us” campaign recently transferred ownership to the new nonprofit Come Near within the past year.
Come Near, whose CEO is former Wendy’s and Domino’s Pizza executive Ken Calwell, said the campaign’s goal is to “share the life and love of Jesus in a new and exciting way.”
The Signatry, a fund that describes itself as “a Christian ministry seeking to build God’s Kingdom by inspiring world-changing generosity,” made $50 million in donations to the Alliance Defending Freedom from 2018 to 2020, reported USA Today. The Alliance Defending Freedom conducts trials dedicated to protecting life, religious freedom, free speech, marriage, and family and parental rights, according to its website.
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Some of his recent litigation includes fighting to have the abortion pill removed from store shelves, defending pro-life centers, and defending the state of Idaho, for example, which was sued by advocates for a law recognizing that boys and girls are different, and therefore, requiring that students in grades K-12 have separate bathrooms.
