(HorizonPost.com) – The president of the ad agency behind the Christian-themed Super Bowl commercials that spurred some controversy last weekend defended the ad campaign in an interview with Fox News Digital on Monday.
Jason Vanderground, the president of BrandHaven, the agency responsible for the “He Gets Us” ad campaign, told Fox that the ads were designed to intrigue people about Jesus’ message of “unconditional love,” “kindness,” and “generosity.”
The agency ran two ads during Sunday’s Super Bowl, a 60-second spot titled “Foot Washing” and a 15-second spot titled “Who is My Neighbor?”
Vanderground said the ads were intended to disrupt “preconceived notions” about Christianity and Jesus, and while the ads were not political, Vanderground said they were produced with the presidential election in mind.
He explained that there is “a lot of divisiveness” and anxieties are “running high.” He said the ads were aimed at delivering the “unique message of Jesus” into that kind of environment.
During last year’s Super Bowl, the agency ran commercials showing Jesus as someone who cared about the poor and immigrants who also sought to heal the political divide. The theme of this year’s campaign was “loving your neighbor,” Vanderground told Fox.
Since the commercials aired, the He Gets Us website surpassed more than 700,000 views. According to Vanderground, the group has also seen a jump in the number of people signing up for Bible reading plans.
While some conservatives on social media objected to the Super Bowl ads for being off base, the campaign faced harsh attacks from leftists in part because the major funder of the ad campaign was the family behind craft store Hobby Lobby.
Leftists also criticized the group for spending millions that could have gone to the poor on Super Bowl commercials.
Vanderground told Fox that he found the blowback over the campaign “very reassuring.”
He said the group felt that the money spent was a good investment because it was an opportunity to get Jesus’ message out during “the biggest cultural event that we have.”
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