The 20 Million Dollar Super Bowl Jesus Ad Stirs Controversy
By Wayne Davis
The line “love your enemies” is a line from the Holy Bible. It is something many people find extremely hard to do. Super Bowl LVIII was a game to be remembered. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling overtime game. A big part of the Super Bowl Sunday has been watching the commercials. Viewers enjoyed the funny, star-studded cameo ads.
Super Bowl ads have given viewers additional reasons to sit and watch the game. Everyone enjoys viewing the funny, quirky and star-studded cameo ads. This year, there was an ad that aired and stood out to be much different from the rest.
“Love Your Enemies” is the title for the commercial shown was 60 seconds of a display of angry people shouting at one another. Scenes of hatred towards others were on display with background music by Ran 'n Bone Man. The song was titled “Human.” It is a catchy tune, coupled with good clean cinematography.
Emotions shown throughout the ad are anger, frustration and hate. The lyrics of the song set a tone for the emotions on display. At the 45-second mark, the words “Jesus loved the people we hate” appear on the screen. Prior to this point, people were not sure what to make of the ad.
The commercial was funded by the Servant Foundation Endowment. This foundation backs the He Gets Us campaign. According to Christian Broadcast Netowrk (CBN), the "Love Your Enemies" first aired during the 2023 Super Bowl.
In 2024 the foundation paid $20,000,000 for the Super Bowl airtime slot. According to the CBN, The financial backers of hegetsus.com, paid for the 90 seconds of airtime during the first air during the 2023 Super Bowl.
A great example of how far the foundation was willing to go and get airtime for the commercial. On the website, hegetsus.com, viewers will find a collection of videos. "Love Your Enemies" is one of the videos located on hegetsus.com.
When John, A Chaffey College student was asked about the advertisement, he said, "The images shown in the ad are of political indifference's.” John continued by saying “the ad is not controversial, if you have the money to pay for the airtime, you should be able to show it.”
Two more students were interviewed and asked not to have their names shared. When asked if they had seen the ad, both said no. They were informed of it and did not want to see it. Both students said, “religion has no place in the Super Bowl.” They continued to share their belief that “a religious campaign should not be thrust upon the public.”
John felt the ad was well done. “The message was good and has a place amongst the ad shown during the Super Bowl." However, John did express: "There are a lot more meaningful things which could have been completed with the $20,000,000 spent on the airtime slot used for the ad."
Another Chaffey student by the name of Maria was asked about her thoughts on the ad. The first words from Maria were “Blasphemy and it is an insult to Christianity.” She went on to state “It is very politically motivated.” Her reasoning for it being politically motivated due to the images that were used. “The images used in the video were of political protest happening in the United States.” Maria also said, “It gives a wrong perspective of Jesus.”
Anyone who has viewed the commercial will have their own opinion and judgement about it. Some people will say it is blasphemous and others will say it is political and it should have its place. You now must ask yourself, does an ad for politics and Jesus have a place during the Super Bowl?