Bill McKendry remembers the exact time and place when he received “the call.” It wasn’t exactly a call from God. But then again, maybe it was.
It was March 4, at 5 p.m. in 2021 when McKendry took the call. Because of Covid, he was all alone in the office of Haven, the ad agency he runs from a second floor space on Harbor Drive in Grand Haven, across the street from the channel where the Grand River runs into Lake Michigan.
The person on the call was someone he had worked for before who was now part of a large group of donors with a really big idea. They wanted to advertise Jesus. Specifically, they said Jesus was not well understood in our culture. Some of this was due to anti-Christian bias. But this group of anonymous donors also said Christians themselves bear some blame for not being more like Jesus.
McKendry remembers doing what ad pros do. Alone in his office talking to the caller, he grabbed a marker, went to a white board, and asked him for a problem statement. This is what advertisers determine so they can craft a message that addresses the problem specifically and strategically.
The caller said the problem directly: “how did the world’s greatest love story get to be known as a hate group.” McKendry had to put down his marker and even sit down. He told me that in all his years of advertising, it was the best problem statement he had ever heard.
“I realized how true it is, and as a Christian, it hurt,” he said. “The knowledge of Jesus is a mile wide and an inch deep.”
This is how He Gets Us was born. It is a movement to reintroduce people to the Jesus of the Bible. As such it is an organization and an advertising campaign.
It is not unusual work for McKendry. Years ago he started a firm in Grand Rapids with partner Jim Hanon, called Hanon-McKendry, with a goal to have 50 percent of their clients be nonprofits. They wanted to do more than sell cars and tacos. It turned out to be far more than 50 percent. Now on his own with Haven, McKendry has worked with major national consumer brands, but also significant Christian organizations. He is also behind the promotion of Chosen, the television series now in season three, about the life of Jesus.
McKendry approached the campaign with his usual professionalism. They engaged the Barna Group, which specializes in research about faith and culture, to do six months of research. This yielded four target groups: engaged Christians, cultural Christians, spiritually open skeptics, and non-believers. It’s not lost on McKendry that these four groups are similar to those of the “parable of the sower” in the Bible. They are focused on the middle two groups, which together represent 54 percent of Americans.
Ads have already been running, first in test markets, and then more regular placement. With a total $100 million budget from anonymous donors, ads have run on billboards, digital and social platforms. But half the budget has been television. They have already exceeded goals. McKendry originally hoped to see 4.5 million views, clicks and shares in the first year. They reached 4.5 million engagements in the first three weeks. Now the goal is 500 million views of the series of ads about Jesus on YouTube. They are also already seeing movement in groups who see the ads to meet four KPIs—advertising lingo for key performance indicators or responses to the ads. Specifically, after seeing the ads they ask people 1. Do you see Jesus as a worthy example to follow? 2 Do you think Jesus gets YOU? 3. Do you understand that Jesus wants a relationship? 4. Do you have more interest in learning who Jesus really is by reading the Bible?
There will be two He Gets Us ads during the Super Bowl. The ad content is embargoed til they run. But I can tell you one will be a 30-second spot between the first and second quarters featuring children doing cute things, and then a 60-second spot at the beginning of the fourth quarter featuring angry adults.
McKendry said that Christian journalist David French, known for his criticism of some organized Christian denominations, said the series of videos follow a biblical storytelling pattern, going from biography, to theology and then to morality. Well-known pastor Rick Warren, with whom McKendry has also worked, also praised the ads. He said, “Jesus is the only way to God, but there are so many ways to Jesus.” The advertising industry has taken note of the He Gets Us campaign as well, including an article in Advertising Age.
McKendry said the ads actually are a breakthrough in another way: the NFL had a ban on religious ads. But the door opened when NFL owners in test markets saw and liked the ads that ran on local affiliate stations not controlled by the NFL They showed them to others at an NFL meeting. A decision was made to allow them because of their quality, and also to change the NFL policy to allow religious ads on a case-by-case basis.
McKendry is known for hosting a Super Bowl party at his office every year where professionals and students rate each ad. This year he will not have the party because he will be at the SuperBowl. Athletes in Action is honoring Kirk Cousins, the Christian quarterback hailing from West Michigan, at the game. He Gets Us is a sponsor of the Athletes in Action award.
McKendry is excited that after years of advertising work and rating Super Bowl ads, he finally has two ads in the annual event this year. But as a professional, and a Christian, he is more interested in the results of the ads.
“We want to raise the respect and relevance for Jesus in our culture,” he said. “And we want to call on Christians to reflect Jesus better.”
