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Has anyone noticed the onslaught of church ads on the internet? Youtube, games, facebook, etc. They are pretty good ads, in my opinion, and focus on joining us while we worship Christ. Make us better.
Are we getting back to the, “aw shucks, we’re just a bunch of Christians like all ya’ll, just trying to be better people” days of Tommy and Gordon?
There’s nothing weird about us… only don’t call us Mormons or LDS anymore… and yes, if you’re gonna join us you gotta give up that coffee and green tea.. and we’re going to need you to donate 10% of your income if you wanna REALLY be one of the chosen among us. But, we’re just normal people trying to get better.
I think the ads are particularly designed to bring in younger people. Young families, youth, and the 20-somethings.
I agree. I think they are well done. I also think some of the ads are meant to be seen by ultra-conservative, exceptionalism members to try to get them to lighten up and actually accept the Gospel message. I am positive that was the case with the “I’m a Mormon” campaign.
I think they’re also gearing up for the “Light the World” campaign when there’s always an increase in ad activity. I also agree these are well done. I have yet to see the new “Christ Child” video (because it hasn’t been publicly released yet) but I do know a couple people who have seen it and they report it is also very well done. I was discussing this with one of the bishopric, who was saying he kept seeing these. I pointed out that if you delete all your cookies, then they disappear. Look at church related material and they magically reappear. Facebook and Google are very intrusive and try to guess your interests based on searches and likes, and create “filter bubbles” which reinforce and confirm previous beliefs.
Like most ads, they are mostly ineffective. Most people aren’t seeing them, but the church leaders will see them on a regular basis and think they’re effective. I suspect most of the people seeing them are already in, or in contact with, the church.
I will say I have seen these ads even after turning off ad personalization and blocking most forms of tracking, so they are reaching the general population, at least in Utah. Whether they work is hard to know. I did notice they take on a much more general Christian tone, with little of the unique “Mormon” things. And with the whole emphasis on not using “Mormon” it’s not immediately obvious which church it is the first time you see it.
That may be precisely because you are in Utah. If you have location tracking on, and I try not to*, and you go with a hundred yards of a chapel, then it thinks you’re interested. The Mormon thing is Pres. Nelson’s “hill to die on”. He got told off by Pres. Hinckley about it many years ago, but has been determined to enforce it. I agree with emphasizing Christ, but Mormon is a name we’re going to be known by anyway. It is a little close to “moron” and is linked with fundamentalists, but otherwise I don’t mind it.
* The thing is tracking me unofficially anyway.
😔
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