People keep
asking me about the “I am Mormon” billboards that are posted around town. They
say things like “Hey why are they doing that?” or “What’s the point of having
those up everywhere?” This just plum irritates me. Just because I’m from Utah
does not mean that I have a strong relationship with the advertising executives
at the Mormon compound. If I did know who these people were, I would tell them
that their ads are causing a backfire and people now think they are weirder
than before. Advertising your religion is in my opinion not a very good idea,
and here is why:
1.
You can’t explain
to people why you are advertising a life choice and belief system in 30
seconds.
2.
Let’s be honest,
do you really want to claim the crazy people that say they belong to the same
religion as you? (Insert polygamist joke here)
3.
The church crowd
may get a little rowdy when they realize that their donations are going to
billboards that will inevitably get mocked or spray painted.
4.
Your slogan
should not be so close to “I am an alcoholic.”
5.
Again, people
think you’re weird.
The next time someone asks me about these ads
I think I’ll just play dumb and turn on a Donnie and Marie album, perhaps they
can explain it to us.
There's a great article that was in the Sunday Denver Post, and it's all about pop culture's take on Mormonism and how it is showing up everywhere, from the billboard ads to "The Book of Mormon," and to TV shows. If you want, I can e-mail you the link.
ReplyDeleteI do think that having your religion out there will subject you to plenty of ridicule and may even threaten the vitality of your religion. I also get sick of people asking me Mormon questions or questions about Mormons, because although I am from Utah, I'm not Mormon and have no idea what they think or want in this case...