he gets us
13 - 03/23 /12:02
It’s increasingly rare to see a positive portrayal of Christianity in popular culture. “He Gets Us” is trying to do just that. The brand gained tremendous popularity following a $100 million ad buy in the 2023 Super Bowl. “He Gets Us” has been appearing on billboards and social media since late last year.
For an inside look, journalist Isaac Willour talked to two people in the campaign: “He Gets Us” spokesperson Jason Vanderground and Bill McKendry, a creative director.
For an inside look, journalist Isaac Willour talked to two people in the campaign: “He Gets Us” spokesperson Jason Vanderground and Bill McKendry, a creative director.
What’s the denominational background behind “He Gets Us”?
JV: “He Gets Us” is not associated with any group or denomination; our team includes a variety of denominations and viewpoints.
Who’s the main audience for this ad campaign?
JV: First, reintroduce spiritually open skeptics to the Jesus of the Bible and His confounding love and forgiveness. Second, challenge Christians to reflect the authentic Jesus.
What do you want people to walk away from the ad thinking and feeling?
JV: The ultimate goal of “He Gets Us” is to raise respect and relevance for the Jesus of the Bible. To inspire those who may be skeptical of Christianity to learn more about Jesus. Also, to encourage Christians to live out their faith—to exhibit the same confounding love and forgiveness Jesus modeled.
What’s the most common feedback to the campaign?
BM: Questions regarding our agenda and the sources of funding. Understandably, all sides—Christian and non-Christian, conservative and progressive—are skeptical about our motives and desired outcomes. We’ve been surprised that the media have been fair in their analysis. They been critical, but also complimentary and objective.
What’s the most useful feedback?
BM: The best feedback was Google searches for “Jesus” went up 3,800% in January as we began promoting our ad presence for the Super Bowl. “Jesus” was already a top search term, so to see numbers swell was very encouraging.
How do you balance the corporate responsibility to generate traffic with the evangelical responsibility to the Gospel?
BM: We’ve established Key Performance Indicators which measure standard responses (e.g., web traffic, shares, likes, views, chats, texts, etc.,) and shifts on attitudes and behavior. So we’re measuring both the return and impact.
Compared to other Christian advertisement, what lessons did you learn in the production?
JV: “He Gets Us” is about the radical forgiveness, compassion, and love of Jesus. Nothing else. No other effort spent the time and resources we have to prepare their effort at the level and scale we have. ~