Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was unhappy about the Super Bowl results — and she let the world know she was seeing red on Sunday night.
It wasn’t the score that made Ocasio-Cortez unhappy. Instead, it was the two commercials advertising Jesus Christ and His forgiveness.
The nondenominational Christian group “He Gets Us” spent $20 million on two thirty-second commercial spots. The ads remind viewers that Jesus loved the poor, was a refugee, and that He wants to unite and not divide.
That didn’t sit well with Ocasio-Cortez, who replied online —
Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 13, 2023
“Whatever you are facing, Jesus faced it too,” the campaign claims.
You can take a look at the commercial about love and forgiveness that Ocasio-Cortez hated here —
https://twitter.com/HeGetsUs/status/1624951527772246017
In the past, it was rare for faith to be promoted alongside the Super Bowl’s perennially buzzed-about beer and fast-food commercials. But the backers of the “He Gets Us” campaign see it as a great opportunity to reach so many people at once.
“It fits with our target audience really well,” said campaign spokesperson Jason Vanderground about the NFL and its big game. “We’re trying to get the message across to people who are spiritually open, but skeptical.”
In 2010, the anticipated debut of a Super Bowl ad by Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian ministry long involved in pro-Life efforts, received pushback from abortion advocates and others in the run-up to the game. The ad featured Pam Tebow, mother of football star Tim Tebow, talking about her challenging pregnancy with her son. She chose not to have an abortion despite medical concerns.
“I think we ended up in the Top 10 for the most controversial ads … that wasn’t the one I wanted, but it’s OK. I communicated a message,” said Focus on the Family CEO Jim Daly. He said the goal was to reach the most people with “a quick story about the positivity of choosing life.”
Daly said he considers the ad a success. The ministry later shared the story of a woman who said she decided not to get an abortion after seeing the ad.
On other occasions, religious themes have been used in a light-hearted way to sell everyday products: In 2018, a Toyota ad featured nuns, a priest, a rabbi, an imam, and a Buddhist monk. A California church created a humorous Doritos ad that aired in 2010 after winning the snack brand’s Super Bowl ad contest.
“He Gets Us” ads were shown during each half.
“We think Jesus is a big deal and we want to make a big deal out of it,” Vanderground said. “What better way to do that than to put him in the biggest cultural moment that we have the entire year?”
The “He Gets Us” campaign, which was launched in March 2022, is funded by Hobby Lobby CEO David Green and other anonymous donors. The ads direct people to a website, where they can learn more about Jesus, find Bible reading plans, and connect with people online or in-person who can answer their questions.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article