Another Edgy Ad for United Church of Christ, But Where’s the Beef?

c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Think back. Some of history’s most memorable TV commercials turned on the simplest connection between intent and concept. Who could have predicted that Clara Peller, a 4-foot-11 octogenarian, would achieve advertising immortality by asking, endlessly, “Where’s the beef?” on behalf of Wendy’s? We won’t know for a while whether […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Think back. Some of history’s most memorable TV commercials turned on the simplest connection between intent and concept.

Who could have predicted that Clara Peller, a 4-foot-11 octogenarian, would achieve advertising immortality by asking, endlessly, “Where’s the beef?” on behalf of Wendy’s?


We won’t know for a while whether the United Church of Christ’s new ad campaign, which debuted recently, will gain such fame. But the 30-second spot does aim at lofty goals using the most basic of sight gags.

In a Gothic sanctuary filled with mostly white, middle-class types, sinister-looking, spring-loaded platforms suddenly burst from certain pews. They hurl those who are a tad different from everyone else out of their seats.

In effect, the devices eject the people from their surroundings, jettisoning them skyward as staid-looking congregants around them calmly watch.

The quick-and-easy message seems to be that some churches don’t want you if you have dark skin or a fussy baby. They prefer you vanish if you appear Middle Eastern, gay, old, poor or dressed too casually. Text and a voiceover at the end counter that the UCC invites everyone to join its worship community.

Like this ad, the Wendy’s commercials from 1984 and ’85 relied on implicit contrast: Look inside the competition’s bun, and you might ask the same question Peller deadpanned, while Wendy’s beef looms large. The late actress’s performance won praise for entertainment and commercial value, bringing happy customers to the company’s outlets.

Most viewers probably will find the ad for the UCC, a 1.3 million-member mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Cleveland, entertaining too. They’ll like its brevity, pace of editing, actors’ shifting eyes and the sheer outrageousness of blasting churchgoers with a crazy Rube Goldberg-like device. Major networks have rejected the ad as “too controversial.” However, the spot will air on many cable TV stations and online sites and already is available at http://www.ucc.org.

But to what end?

Michael Jordan, managing partner at Gotham Inc., the New York agency that created the ad, said a 2004 UCC spot focusing on the denomination’s inclusivity generated millions of “clicks for more information on the UCC Web site.”


That ad featured a bouncer at the roped-off entrance to a place of worship. Some seeking entry got in; those who didn’t fit the church’s profile had to hit the road. The UCC, the message said, invites all into its fold, regardless of clothing, ethnicity, sexual orientation or whatever.

Jordan hopes those who believe that some denominations exclude them might inquire “about how open to diversity this church is.” The commercial’s “edgy execution,” he said, could add a special appeal.

The Rev. Ben Guess, UCC director of communication, expects the ad to ring a bell for the “many unchurched,” people not now attached to a congregation but seeking spiritual connection.

“The major impulse of this campaign is to alert people, to invite them to UCC churches. We and our mainline counterparts have not been as visible in the media over the last four decades as churches from the religious right,” he said.

The ad probably will generate visibility. But will raising so complex an issue in so playful and “edgy” a manner actually help people decide their religious affiliation?

You can’t squeeze much theology into 30 seconds, only the message that the UCC is open to all. Wendy’s is, too. At least its ads asked the fundamental question: where’s the beef?


(Frank Bentayou is a columnist for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.)

KRE/PH END BENTAYOU

Editors: To obtain a photo of the UCC television ad, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

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