303 to lure lapsed Christians back to Jesus
When 303, Sydney took the challenge to market ‘Jesus. All About Life’, they knew it would be one of the toughest marketing challenges to crack. So what’s behind 303’s solution?
Says Julian Watt, creative director, 303 Sydney: “The campaign objective is to get lapsed Christians talking about Jesus again. It isn’t to get atheists to change their views. The problem is, the minute you use typical spiritual messages that sound like they come directly from the Church, people switch off. So our strategy was to take a more novel approach, creating a fun platform for dialogue around Jesus. Because the fact is most people, religious or not, actually feel quite positive about Jesus.
“The campaign is a fully integrated one, kicked off with a web-basedinteractive idea, literally allowing people to thank Jesus foreverything in life: from 1 day cricket to colourful birds that looklike they’re wearing pants.
“The level of engagement after just a few days is great. It shows thatthe irreverence is working. Getting the campaign talked about on Rovelast night is exactly the type of response we want.”
View the campaign at www.allaboutlife.com.au
Agency: 303 Group
Head of Digital: Nic Chamberlain
Creative Director: Julian Watt
Creative: Richard Berney
Web Director: Paul Hamilton
Group Business Director: Matt Clarke
Business Director: Lucy Gleghorn
Creative Co-ordinator: Louise Acret
34 Comments
If one should thank Jesus for all the nice things in our lives, shouldn’t one also blame Jesus for all the crap things too?
After all, if some crazy flight of fancy convinces you that Jesus gave the world hot chips, then I guess he also gave the world throat cancer, poverty and Dolf Lundgren movies.
6:19 PM
yeh, and massive cynical, sh*t stirring idiots like you.
If we’re thanking Jesus for giving the world both the good and crap things, then we’re thanking him for giving us everything. So…if Jesus then gave us everything, then he made everything. That would make him God wouldn’t it? If Jesus is God, then isn’t that something that’s a little more relevant to us all rather than just lapsed Christians?
Thanks Jesus for Anonymous blog contributers who miss the point.
Thank Jesus for Dolf Lundgren movies.
No, *you’re* missing the point. Why should Jesus get all the credit for the wonders of hot chips, but not the blame for letting a few hundred thousand people die in a tsunami?
If Christian stupidity wasn’t so dangerous, it would be funny.
The Christian Churches are the biggest multi national marketing business of them all. And they don’t have a product! I think to appoint 303 is the real coup here. Well done lads, Nike & Coke should be next.
You didn’t answer the question, 10.06.
But I’m not surprised. People who are into organised religion tend to avoid the obvious outcomes of critical thinking.
So once again: if you thank Jesus for hot chips, do you not blame him for tumours? You really can’t have it both ways. He’s either a supreme being who is responsible for everything in our lives (good or bad), or he isn’t.
Which is it?
i’m sick of people bagging out god for the crap in the world because taking responsibility for the crap we create would actually mean getting off our arses and thinking about more than ourselves (like god suggests repeatedly in the bible, or haven’t you actually read it?).
People are stupid and dangerous, not god.
No we thank god for potatoes. then we douce them in oil and we are told repeatedly if you dont stop eating potatoes in oil you’ll get fat, your blood will clot because you’re putting too much shite in your system and you will get tumours etc. So we keep eating hot chips. we get a tumour. we start praying for a miracle – even though gods repeatedly sent people to tell us potatoes in oil are bad the whole time!. Miracle doesn’t happen. haven’t thanked god for potatoes. blamed god for the tumour he gave us??? no, that doesn’t make sense.
What the flying fuck are you on about, 10.22?
Read the ad:
THANKS FOR HOT CHIPS. AMEN.
Anyway, you’ve answered my question. You believe that God made the good stuff, and it’s human weakness that’s responsible for the bad stuff.
In a sense, I envy you and your religious brethren for your simplistic outlook on life. It probably makes things a lot easier.
And 10.11, sure I’ve read the bible. But here’s where we differ: you seem to believe that God said that stuff. That God talked directly to several men, who wrote this stuff down word for word. I believe it was written by men, imagining what a God would want to say to people.
The bible is a nice book of simple laws and philosophies, which make quite a bit of sense – especially for their time. But when you actually believe it’s the result of God giving dictation, then you start to get seriously off-course. IMO, of course.
“God” doesn’t suggest anything to anyone. Never has, never will.
God is a massive delusion. No evidence for him whatsoever. Good luck with your imaginary friend.
6.19
No one is stopping you or anyone else for thanking Jesus for the crap things. That what he is there for.
Thank you Jesus for getting Julian Watt to offer that awesome Brizzy team a job.
Amen!
Feed them to the lions.
it’s getting hot in here!
Do lions like hot chips?
10.44, your comment about God speaking to men and how the books of the bible were written, though an age-old argument, has a major logic flaw.
Think about it. If God exists, and he made all things including us, then he could have either done 2 things. He could have completely ignored us and go on existing separate from us, or he could made his presence known in our world through revealing himself through a) the world around us, or b) by revealing himself to men by talking to them and by them writing the words he spoke, or c) both.
If you were God what would you do? Do you have children? Would you consider not ever – ever – letting them know you were their father (or mother) from the moment they were born, and completely ignore their existence? I would think few would.
The Bible has laws and philosophies which make sense, yes. But it is so, so much more than that. One theme runs through all of it’s books, one message that is consistent over a dozen civilisations over a three thousand year period – revealed to many people of different languages and customs, from kings to outcast women, from shepherds to the poorest peasant – that God is real and has revealed himself to us, and reconciled himself to us.
So 10.44, that’s what God, in his Bible, “suggests to us”. There is no other book of antiquity that has more original or historically verified manuscripts in existence than the Bible….but that’s another story.
After a fucking big twister destroyed a small town in the States, CNN interviewed some old bible thumper.
She lost half of her family and her whole house but found time to ‘thank God’ for saving her life.
That, presumably, would be the same God that killed her family and leveled her house then.
Religion and Americans. Gotta love ’em.
I think they are fresh.
Well done 303
“Religion is one of the greatest tools in the history of the evolution human beings.”
Anonymous, Campaign Brief, 15.09.09
Sir David Attenborough is a far better authority on the subject of religion or science than myself.
The two minute version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfa88SeNohY&feature=related
The full documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz7U4k522Pg
I love chips and I’m a lapsed gay man. I love these ads.
A new command I give you: Blog one another. As I have blogged you, so you must blog one another.
Anonymous 13:6
3.47.
You should thank Jesus you’re not a prolapsed gay man
10:44.
Relax. We get the point. You’re not a fan. So far as I can tell it’s a campaign for lapsed christians. They have a belief and for whatever reason have not engaged in a while.
Now, on this blog we are here to discuss the merits of advertising and campaigns. If you want to discuss the off topic subject of “Does God exist” there are countless blogs, websites and a plethora of other avenues to vent.
This is not one of them.
Personally, I like the ads, simple, not an over promise and a nice top of mind campaign.
“hanks for open discussion
Why is the iphone texting execution not written on the very iphone that he’s thanking jesus for getting him? It looks like it was sms’d on the rosetta stone.
5:36 pm
That’s the first thing I noticed… unless the iphone isn’t connected yet and the recipient is still using a Nokia 5110?
Well guys, it’s on your shoulders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUrI_5ZQvO8&feature=related
Job done, you’re talking and engaging.
Religion Poisons Everything
I love it!
God is alive and well and will most likely win the Brownlow tonight.
Go Gary!!!
Told you. OMG, Gary, Gary, Gary!!!
Great campaign, you really nailed it. Couldn’t of done better myself.
Your cheque from the Global Atheist Conspiracy is in the mail.
PS: the brief for Mohammad is coming soon, thanks again! You rock!