My thoughts on the "He Gets Us" commercial during Super Bowl 58. Part 1
The good, the bad, the ugly.
Preface
For those who may not have seen the commercial, you can find it here.
For those who may not be familiar with the “He Gets Us” campaign (HGU henceforth) in general, here is their “about us” on their website. This page will be referenced below.
Several years ago, HGU made their debut as a campaign seeking to start conversations about Jesus in a safe and engaging way. For the few years, they have spent millions of dollars sharing messages and ads trying to promote conversations about Jesus.
This post is dedicated to my thoughts on the good, bad, and ugly of this year’s Super Bowl commercial from HGU. It was focused on washing feet of our neighbors (and our enemies).
These are my thoughts and are solely my personal reflection.
My attempt is to remove nuance and focus on the main things. Please bear with me…
He Gets Us: The Commercial
The ad shares a gallery of images shot by fine art photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten. The images can be found here. They include images of people of all backgrounds and ideologies having their feet washed by seemingly contrasting persons.
The commercial then ends with a series of texts which include:
“Jesus didn’t teach hate.”
“He washed feet.”
“He gets us. All of us.”
It also includes a link to a blog post further expanding on their message. You can find that here.
The Good:
Let me be clear.
The general message of the commercial—especially the text—is true.
Jesus did not teach a message of hate. Jesus did wash 12 people’s feet. He does understand us.
I liked the creativity that the commercial utilized. Like the rest of the campaign, the visual dynamics of the ads were creative and engaging. I think their creatives have done a good job finding unique and thoughtful ways to create and encourage conversations about the person, teachings, and actions of Jesus.
I am no expert in AI, but I assume that AI was used to create these pictures in some capacity. It is possible this is incorrect. I can appreciate the use of new technology to aid in new communication efforts. Where AI can lead to sloppy or awkward outputs, I thought the graphics/pictures were overall well done. I think their style is consistent with the HGS’s overall goal for their campaign.
The first picture appears to be a family. Potentially, a son washing his father’s feet. I love this idea. I think it shows the acts of humility and service they are trying to portray. When a family can display this kind of love for each other, when rooted in the foundation of Christ, I know firsthand how powerful this picture becomes.
The second picture is a police officer washing the feet of man in a dark alley. I am going to assume this would imply a contrast between the police and possible dissenters. I do not know if it is reasonable to assume this is a person in wrong standing with the law. There is an active squad car in the background, but that assumption is just that—an assumption. However, from my perspective of the campaign’s goals, this is not an unreasonable speculation. Regardless, with the tension between many ethnic minorities and police agencies, the idea of compassion and service between two groups that often find hostility, is a truly prophetic and godly hope.
I could find many other good ideas and reflections through the pictures, yet to keep this post concise I will move on…
The Bad:
The pictures are presented as a way to try and connect us to the story of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. This is a noble effort. Why is it under the “Bad” umbrella then?
Well, I do not think the pictures are an accurate connection the story or teaching of Jesus. These pictures seek to try and bridge gaps between contrasting groups or peoples (at least from a certain point of view; one which I think can be fairly common to a percentage of average viewers in America). Ie) an indigenous person and Cowboy… A teenager at Family Planning Clinic and a protestor… A Muslim woman and a neighbor… two rival protestors… a white and black man… an LGBTQ individual and a minister. *[These are my personal interpretations of the pictures. I have tried to be charitable in my interpretation, and this is what I am interpreting HGU is trying to communicate to their audience. I acknowledge that this interception may not be correct, but those pairings seem to be reasonable interpretations based on HGU’s goals, audience, and stated intentions.]
To be clear, my problem here is not the idea of feet washing, the practical application of humility and service, nor the prophetic imagery of finding peace amid differences or backgrounds. Rather, my problem lies with the absence of Jesus, the weak connection (in the ad video itself) to the images and Jesus’s contextual foot washing (the Bad), and the absence of the true call of Jesus’s radical way of living (the Ugly).
[I have been listening to the audio book of John Mark Comer’s latest release Practicing the Way of Jesus. So far, I am a few chapters in, but Comer has done a fantastic job of simply explaining the call to discipleship—for Comer, apprenticeship. I have also been studying 1 John this past month. I will drop this here: “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps
his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in
him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:4–6.]
The absence of Jesus:
In an ad which is meant to highlight Jesus and his teachings, Jesus was only highlighted for 1/4th of the ads total air time (fifteen seconds of the minute long ad). The first forty five seconds were dedicated to the pictures. As a pastor who stays in the know on church world things, I knew the ad was coming. Thus, I knew what it was when it started. I cannot imagine that the average viewer had a good idea or context for the add within the first few seconds. Yes, I do understand the tactic of a “grand reveal” in communication… I am sure in some homes, cars, or venues hosting watch parties were able to invoke meaningful conversations.
Yet, this add does not explain the story of Jesus washing feet. Nor did it depict it. Why not include an illustration of Jesus washing the disciples feet? At least for context for the unfamiliar viewer…
Throwing 3 lines of text, the campaign tagline, and a link to a blog post seemed a bit shallow for the depth of their claims. I would like to know what their projected and actual conversion rates were for people to actually follow the link and read more. I cannot imagine it was that high…
The weak connection (in the ad video itself) to the images and Jesus’s contextual foot washing
Here is where I am going to try and be charitable…
I am going to give HGU the benefit of the doubt and assume the weak connection is due to the limited capacity granted in a one minute ad. I am not entirely hopeful this charitable assumption is true, but I will address “The Ugly” below.
Let’s look at the facts...
The ad shared images of people washing peoples feet.
These people were modern, western, people we assume represent us in our world today.
The foot washer is a “follower” of Jesus. This is supported in their article: “[foot washing is] a symbol for all of his followers to see how they should treat one another.”
To be clear, I think foot washing is a legitimate expression of the Christian faith, and a valid, creative, prophetic illustration of how our modern faith can impact our world.
However, the connection between these pictures and the actual contextual event of Jesus washing feet was not developed to any reasonable in the video ad itself, and in the accompanying blog post it was lacking.
The video tries to connect the idea that Jesus washed the disciple’s feet with a practical application for people ought to treat people today. This connection was not successfully made—or convincing—in the video.
One key distinction that was completely neglected by HGU was that this was an internal teaching of Jesus to his most active disciples—the ones who had committed to adopt his complete way of living. This is a minor detail, but one completely abandoned in establishing the connection between our modern application and the action of Jesus. The line at the end of the ad read: “Jesus didn’t teach hate. // He washed feet.”
The action of Jesus washing feet, does not naturally connect with our modern dilemmas. Hear me out. This is not to say that the general principle is not there. Simply, the add draws on Jesus without how the connection between the act of Jesus washing feet is connected to the modern experience of hate. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, not unbelievers. This is not to say he wouldn’t. Rather, it is to say HGU did not establish a legitimate connection to the action of Jesus to the modern application. Again, I think this is only “Bad” because I hope this was not done intentional to try and fudge away the contextual connection to the story of Jesus and their desired outcome or message.
Jesus washing the disciples feet is not an automatic imperative to act a certain way today… at least not without more explanation!
The last part of the “Bad” which leads to the “Ugly” is this: the certain way that the HGU campaign is seeking to advocate for is the way of “Love.”
HGU tried to connect foot washing and “love your neighbor.” In a general practice of following Jesus it is obvious that these two ideas are part of the Christian walk. Yet, HGU does a “Bad” job of connecting these two ideas. Foot washing was not the basis for loving our neighbor. “individual self-reflection about ‘who is my neighbor?’” is not connected to Jesus teaching the disciples about how treat the Pharisees who were about to kill him. Maybe I am wrong, but I cannot imagine the lesson that the disciples took from Jesus washing their feet was to go and find the first Roman centurion and wash theirs. Does the connection exist? Yes, I think it does. HGU just did not provide it!
I have attempted to write this with charity and integrity. Feel free to leave any comments. I hope I have written this in a way that bring an emphasis on both the grace and truth we find in Jesus. In any error, I hope there will be grace and truth for me. Blessings.
The second half of this post will come out tomorrow following our Tuesday Devotional. It will feature what I think was “the Ugly” truth of the ad.
I know the ad has prompted many opinions and feelings. I hope that He Gets Us has honorable motives and beliefs. I hope they continue to start conversations, but I hope they prompt the right questions.