This is a bit of a knee jerk reaction.
Cineplex Entertainment cancelled 63 thousand dollars worth of advertising at 65 of their theatres showing The Da Vinci Code after the Toronto Star wrote an article.
The ad is 10 seconds long, and text said “Seek the Truth” along with the para church URL.
Most Canadians wouldn’t know Campus Crusade for Christ from the Raelians, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons or Presbyterians. I doubt they could give a definition between Protestant and Catholic, let alone define what a gnostic gospel is.
So why would they know what a para-church evangelical organization is?
But Campus Crusade officials note that their ad made no reference to religion at all; rather, it showed an image of Leonardo’s famous painting, the Mona Lisa, and a tag line that read, “Seek the Truth.”
The ad then revealed the address to a Web site operated by Campus Crusade, where people can discuss The Da Vinci Code and read Christian perspectives about the film.
That argument did not sway Ms. Marshall. Even if the ad was not overtly religious, “it was made by a religious organization. And we don’t accept advertising from any religious group.”
Famous Players, a Canadian cinema chain bought out by Cineplex last year, accepted advertising from Campus Crusade when it screened The Passion of the Christ two years ago. The movie went on to become one of the highest-grossing films ever.
Most Canadians perceive evangelicals through media, particularly US televangelists. This is a business transaction between two companies, I think the theatre chain over-reacted a bit, but they have the right to cancel the contract.
I have this mental picture from an old Zucker brothers movie - I can’t recall whether it was Airport Airplane (corrected 12/06/06/) or the Police Squad/Naked Gun series where orange robed Hari Krishnas go flying in a chase scene.
Here is the article in The Toronto Star. Yeah, the word stalked is used. Just a bit over the top, eh?
North America’s largest evangelical group, Campus Crusade, has mobilized a small army of volunteers from Toronto to Vancouver willing to stalk movie-goers in the line outside cinemas. They plan to hand out biblical tracts debunking the movie’s claim that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene and that the Catholic lay organization Opus Dei has covered up the scandalous affair for more than 2,000 years.
For those who shrug off the booklets, Campus Crusade has a backup plan: a 10-second commercial spot that cost $63,000 and will air before The Da Vinci Code’s opening credits in about 100 theatres across Canada.
“In the past, many Christian groups just said, `Here’s the way we think, and that’s the way it is,’” said Braden Douglas, a former ad executive with Procter & Gamble who’s overseeing Campus Crusade’s marketing efforts. “But times have changed. Talking about Christian issues takes communicating with people in means they understand and enjoy. In today’s culture, this happens to be media and entertainment.”
Douglas’s organization isn’t the only Christian concern that’s taking a different approach to its advertising efforts in recent days.
Would I want to go see a movie, come outside and have people shoving literature in my face? Truthfully, no. Would I suffer through another screen ad for 10 seconds to get to the movie I came to see? I’d have less of a choice, but I think the ad without the pamphleteers is the lesser of the two evils.
The Toronto Star article looks at several marketing campaigns by Protestants and Catholics over the years.
Published 2 years, 4 months ago
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I suppose their argument is we’re doing it for God, but it might be a different story if they were saying, “Hey come to my church!” Perhaps then they would have more desire to be less like stalkers more like Jesus? Less in your face, “I’m going to give you this tract” sort of stuff, more “Hey lets talk about life?”.
I don’t know to be honest.
Someone with Campus Crusade could say, ‘Hey, would you like to come to my church’ but CC is an adjunct (para) to a church/denomination.
The dialogue (if one happens on the sidewalk) might go the same direction as it would in various churches, but for most of us a relationship would have to be forged.
No one is going to get one in the 10 second ad, or leaving a crowded theatre, I don’t know how many of us are going to be inclined to chatter or accept literature from strangers.
Some people may have the time and the inclination, most won’t.
Some may take the literature and actually read it, I wouldn’t be one of them, even though I have a fair idea of the goals and objectives of CC. I wouldn’t give myself the time to read it, it would go into the nearest garbage can with every other piece of advertising I receive.
I think the word stalked was badly, poorly and sloppily used by the person in Toronto Star.
Stalked is a criminal word, a hunting word.
Let’s face it, you may chose to use your disposable income on the movie, have the evening out, but in reality most people do subliminally feel like prey to the various advertisers, so consciously or not I’d lump the ads and the sidewalk pamphleteers into just another distraction, someone wanting something else from me.
I do agree with you the CC members sincerely believe they are doing this for God.
This campaign is way too in my face for my comfort level. I’m so sick of people marketing God at me and seeing or treating me as the consumer, the commodity, a target, the number to add to their divine list.
I got thinking about the human face - most of us don’t think about an organization like Campus Crusade for Christ in individual terms, expecially when they are grouped and marketing, around and outside a movie theatre.
This is a family involved with Campus Crusade for Christ in the US.
Eric has a brain tumour with a 5% survival rate.
http://erikandkelly.ministryhome.org/index.php
Bene, talk about having stuff “shoved in your face”. I went to the movies this past week and was asked “would you like a “DaVinci code” movie poster?” If I had your attitude toward the CCforC I would have reacted the way you did. However, I didn’t get upset and thought “If thats what they want to do then fine.” Maybe you shouldn’t react to literature in that I too had “literature shoved in my face”. I personally didn’t care but it was literature non the less.
Someone said “I’m so sick of people marketing God at me and seeing or treating me as the consumer, the commodity, a target, the number to add to their divine list.”
So you are tired of CC advertising but aren’t that way on the “DaVinci code”. If you aren’t going to knock the “DaVinci code” advertising then maybe you should read the CC hand-outs. Seems like a double standard to me.
DH:
I admire you for your patience and courtesy to people attempting to shove literature into your hands.
This post in my mind is about the misplaced value of information - because we can quantify, we assume a marketing campaign has worth. The transfering or giving of information for it’s own sake is not spiritually transformative. Whether we quantify with levels of degrees or by cost - it is not the measure of the Kingdom.
Again, you have my respect for your patience and willingness to take literature, even if it is as you say, for literatures sake.
I don’t expect Sony to do anything other than market their product DH, it’s the entertainment business - they know the more blitz and buzz the better for the bottom line. In entertainment that is a truism for the most part, I’m not in relationship, and a relationship is not necessary with their product. They merely wish to overwhelm me to the point I’ll notice them, and hope I’ll fork over some/more of my disposable income.
I’m not sure thats a comparison to the Campus Crusade marketing decisions that is prudent to make DH. Sony is selling a product. Campus Crusade has made a decision to react to that pitch, on entertainments turf.
You stated “The transfering or giving of information for it’s own sake is not spiritually transformative.”
I happen to disagree with this. I know many who have read tracts and the like whos lives were transformed or responded to the tracts who otherwise wouldn’t have if they hadn’t read thetract. I feel the same thing can take place with regard to the CCforC documents. I see no problem for CCforC to respond accordingly.
I wish you would show the same courtesy to the CCforC as you do to Sony with regard to document shoving.
If lives from reading the CCforc literature are open to the Gospel and after reading the documents “accept Christ as their Savior” then it would be a measure of the Kingdom in that it is by “..Grace are you Saved through FAITH.” or “Without Faith it is impossible to please God.”
You say “I’m not in relationship, and a relationship is not necessary with their product.” You don’t think there is a hidden agenda to imfluence people away from Christ with the DaVinci code? I happen to think otherwise and hense my reaction and approval of CCforC and all of the many other campaigns against DaVinci code.
All of this was under the assumption that I read the CCforC literature which I haven’t. I haveread a good many of them on other topics and the plan of Salvation was stated on every piece I saw. I can only assume unbiased that that is the case here as well.
*I wish you would show the same courtesy to the CCforC as you do to Sony with regard to document shoving.*
DH: I expect Sony and the companies it is in symbosis with to be in my face, it’s their job, they sell entertainment. I apologize for not stating the obvious.
Let’s not complicate the apparent.
I’m a consumer - and will make the decision about entertainment according to my tastes.
No, I don’t think there is a hidden agenda, it’s a book based on a gnostic gospel that got made into a movie. The Exorcist, Elmer Gantry, yada, yada.
I’m not willfully a hostage to consumerism, I attempt to be willfully aware of marketing, and I am not in a culture war. I’m not frantic about the universal church, God’s love or the work of the Holy Spirit, and have no more use for an evangelical knee jerk reaction than I do to Cineplex’s decision to call pamphlettering stalking.
If tracts have been useful to you, great.
Information is not the primary path to spiritual transformation, it is part of the path, I’m questioning the misplaced importance of various means of distribution.
“…Cineplex’s decision to call pamphlettering stalking.”
Maybe you need to question the importance of AMC giving out DaVinci code movie posters which is the same thing as CCforC giving out tracts.
To harsh toward CCforC for handing out tracts “shoving it in peoples face” seems strange to me in light of Sony doing it with regard to them “shoving” “DaVinci code” movie posters in my face. It seems like a double standard. You seem to have a very strong, biased, double standard with anything Evangelical. Hollywood can “shove literature” (which I don’t consider shoving) but Evangelicals can’t do the same. No one is making anyone accept the literature. If you don’t like the literature pleasantly reject it and go on. Rather than be harsh toward people handing out the literature.
The reason it didn’t bother me that I was asked if I wanted the movie poster is because I would want the same respect if I was handing out a tract.
I don’t see what the big deal is about a tract or what is so wrong with it. I think if you dig deep into the meanings that Evangelism is indirectly a form of marketing.
The Toronto Star reporter wrote:
“North America’s largest evangelical group, Campus Crusade, has mobilized a small army of volunteers from Toronto to Vancouver willing to stalk movie-goers in the line outside cinemas. They plan to hand out biblical tracts debunking the movie’s claim…”
10 people handing out tracts in this area would be perceived as a small army. In TO, they’d just get trampled. It was a poor choice of words, that got a lot of free publicity for a couple of organization/companies; however - the reporter may genuinely feel threatened or perceive this behavior as stalking. No editor chose to change the language, and we don’t know why.
Sooo- Moving on -
Cineplex Canada, taking it’s media cue, on cue, emails Campus Crusade for Christ in Vancouver:
“With the knowledge that this organization plans to ’stalk’ our moviegoers outside of our theatres handing out unapproved material concerning a film we are presenting, we cannot lend support to this activity by running this campaign,” wrote Cineplex ad saleswoman Diane Rajh.”
Okay.
The media piles on and gets a re-act from Campus Crusade’s Canadian media guy -
“Ten students in Montreal said they might go out to a few theatres and hand out the material,” he added. “A handful of students in Calgary said they might as well. This is not some massive army we have assembled.”
And the obligatory corrective re-act from Cineplex head office -
The e-mail that Cineplex sent to the organization was a “mistake.” Ms. Rajh, she added, “is misinformed.”
Cineplex’s decision to drop the brief spot was made because the company “does not show any religious advertising at all,” Ms. Marshall explained, even if it promotes a film the company is showing in its theatres. The contract with Campus Crusade was made in error. “It slipped though the cracks.”
Getting the picture?
Campus Crusade for Christ Canada gets more publicity than they can ever pay for in a 10 second spot because a reporter used words like stalked and small army.
My question is this: Was Cineplex Canada even aware (given their policy) that a religious ad had been shipped to them?
Seems to me the screwups go beyond a reporters poor choice of a few words - through to a cross-border marketing campaign, shipping or marketing errors, and media overdrive. Seems to me the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing at Cineplex Canada or at Campus Crusade for Christ Canada.
At least they finally communicated, eh?
It is a win-win for Campus Crusade for Christ Canada.
a) they get their money back (don’t know if that 63 thousand comes from the US or Cdn office)
b) get to have their ‘10 students in Montreal’ (which is curious because Montreal is east of Ontario and The Toronto Star said Ontario to Vancouver:^)
c) get more publicity than 63 thousand could ever buy.
We aren’t told:
a) how many people across Canada are actually out on the sidewalk
b) how Cineplex Canada made the mistake with the ad
c) where the literature came from (Cda/US)
d) who paid for it
e) where it was actually shipped to in Canada
f) how much of it there is distributed across Canada
g) who alerted the Toronto Star - Cineplex, CCC, or unknown?
If, and it’s a big if, Cdn movie goers in say Anigonish, Sept-Iles, Watson Lake, The Pas or Red Deer remembered the URL, what are the odds they’ll actually think click on it?
Slim to none I think.
And how many of those the Cdn theatres are actually in an area where Campus Crusade for Christ Canada might actually have students out on the sidewalk?
Slim.
National media coverage?
priceless.
All in all I still have no problem with the above. CCforC is a very reputible organization.
You still haven’t rebutted this adequately: “Maybe you need to question the importance of AMC giving out DaVinci code movie posters which is the same thing as CCforC giving out tracts.”
That is the point. I still have major problems with Cineplex calling the actionsof CCforC as “stalking” when in fact they are just handing out literature just like the movie attendent did with me regarding the “DaVinci Code” movie poster. The fact is they are the equivilent but biased people think otherwise for some reason I have no idea except their own form of promotion. Maybe Bene you are doing a promotion to discredit CCforC? Just wondering in light of the double standard on your site.
I had to look up AMC.
415 locations with 5,612 screens, located in the US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Hong Kong, France, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.
“Our circuit of high-performing theatres is primarily located in large, urban markets where we have a strong market position.
Our theatres are the choice of more than 250 million moviegoers each year and our guests Experience the DifferenceSM at our locations. The company’s reputation for innovation can be seen in everything from the smallest details to groundbreaking ideas that have transformed the movie exhibition industry — such as the megaplex, which premiered in Dallas, Texas in 1995.
We have a preeminent brand that is recognized in the marketplace…”
That AMC?
An entertainment company, out to make loyal customers in a competitive marketplace. They aren’t being deceptive since I assume you paid to see the movie and got a poster as part of your price of admission. Thats nice.
I’m assuming from this conversation you paid to watch a movie, took and looked at the poster they gave you, but didn’t read the Campus Crusade literature.
Your premise: question the importance of the AMC giving out movie posters which is the same thing as Campus Crusade for Christ giving out tracts.
AMC poster important?
No.
Promotion to discredit Campus Crusade for Christ?
No.
I believe these pamphletters are sincere.
Question methodology and effectiveness of believing information consumerism makes disciples.
Yes.
Double standard?
I know you believe that.
Campus Crusade for Christ’s reputation?
Financials - 3 stars.
Supporters/critics summarized well.
http://www.ministrywatch.com/mw2.1/F_SumRpt.asp?EIN=956006173
I’m not going to take a tract shoved in my face if I’m out for entertainment. Don’t care who you are.
I wouldn’t take a poster from AMC shoved in my face either, okay?
I don’t know if Cineplex Canada hands out Da Vinci posters DH, don’t care if they do or not.
I’m not going to spend time, energy or money on a product line I’m not interested in.
Bene, its good to know you wouldn’t accept either. Your final explaination helps me understand better rather than bea double standard. However, I wouldn’t call either the poster or the CCforC literature as “shoving literature down peoples face”.
As a matter offact I CCforC wasn’t at the movie theatre I was at, I rejected the DaVinci code poster. To be honest I would have accepted the CCforC literature and rejected the DaVinci code poster. However, I don’t mind having the poster people or the CCforC handing out literature. Nobody has to accept it andif people do accept it and read it fine.
I do feel while in and of itself Cineplex isn’t discrediting CCforC, I do think calling their actions “stalking” is clearly not the case and is very harsh to such a reputible organization.
I also to believe the implication that CCforC is being deceptive.
Just because you question the effectiveness doesn’t mean the pamphlets don’t work. If by reading the pamphlet one person accepts Christ then in my opinion it was affective.
DH: The directive you requested is on the sidebar under About. BD
On a slightly diffedrent topic:
‘That argument did not sway Ms. Marshall. Even if the ad was not overtly religious, “it was made by a religious organization. And we don’t accept advertising from any religious group.”’
Fact: over 20% of Canadians think that the ideas behind the DaVinci Code are true. That’s more Canadians than go to church on Sundays.
I might not like that, but the truth is that people these days seem to be losing their ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
That being the case, I think the real double standard is for the movie theatre to accept a movie that spreads disinformation about the history of Christianity, and then not to accept a little ad like the CCforC ad. ‘We’ll make money out of slamming Christianity, but won’t allow advertising that gives access to an alternative view’.
Please understand - I think that the Four Spiritual Laws of CCforC are a gross misrepresentation of the Gospel, and I have very little time for CCforC. I just think the movie chain is being hypocritical here.
Campus Crusade doesn’t tend just to hand out literature. Their goal is to get into conversations with people. They generally use filtering questions to sift through which people will talk and which won’t, and they move on if people aren’t interested. They don’t like to waste expensive, glossy literature on people who will just throw it away, especially if these are the small books I was sent in the mail.
Their 9-11 literature, by the way, was the most culturally sensitive “post-disaster” Christian literature I’ve ever seen. In New York City, people generally throw away anything you hand out. New Yorkers with no spiritual interest to speak of were coming up to those handing them out asking for more.
As for the Zucker film, it was the first Airplane movie. (I believe Airport was a real disaster film, perhaps even one of the inspirations for Airplane.)
Thank you Jeremy, I corrected that.