Some creative director or brand manager somewhere is very proud of him/her/itself for stirring such a big pot of curry and eye of newt.
News headlines, controversy, free publicity... "YES! We did it!"
But what did you do?You blatantly made fun of the most passive aggressive religion on earth.The Afans (Atheist fanatics) are having a laugh today and maybe one or two other liberals in the religion mix are laughing too, albeit uncomfortably and the marketer is feeling wonderful!
Let me explain what you have done, oh self satisfied marketing guru:
Christians are a very conscientious bunch. If you exclude the fanatics, who much like Afans are driven by self righteousness more than conscience or a desire to do good, you are dealing with 2 or so billion people who really just want to be 'good people'.
They won't attack you, bomb you or argue with you like a Muslim fanatic would but they will be ashamed of you, expecting more. Kind of like that scene in Braveheart where William Wallace realizes that he had been betrayed by Robert the Bruce.It's more of an emotional betrayal than an inducement of anger.
Noting that the Jesus made fun of in the ad is the answer to all living and eternal issues, they uncomfortably accept the ad without too much hallabalu and go about their lives, shaking their heads at yet another insensitive stab at the belief system they hold so dear.
Many will laugh at the joke in the same way you laugh at a nasty joke about your mother or sister. It certainly is funny.But the conscience, ohhhhhhhh the conscience.....
Reaching into the fridge at Georgios corer cafe' a few days or weeks later, they feel that pang of betrayal and their hand moves past the Red Bull to reach for the can of Monster next to it.
Suddenly they feel like they have done something good, stood up for what they believe in and made the world a better place somehow.
Red Bull has placed itself on the other side of the line. The side where Christians get persecuted and mocked. A company that did not actually need the extreme brand awareness makes and entire religion aware of it's insensitivity to their belief systems.
To the conscientious crowd, it is not Jesus Red Bull is making fun of, but Christians for believing in him.
Luckily the Afans of News24 will embark on a crusade to drink all the Red Bulls the Christians will probably avoid.
After all, Red Bull just took their side.
Today Red Bull is the dodgy TV Evangelist for the Afans and they are truly ecstatic.
Personally, I think this ad was like Malema is for the ANC. A great incentive to vote for another party!
We all laugh at Malema, but only the ignorant will support his product.Christians will feel the same way.
heh heh.
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