The Antichristian Phenomenon

In the ACP Last.fm forums there are a number of long-running threads that are fairly consistently updated, most specifically the threads “Best Antichristian song ever…?” and “Christian stuff - Post and ridicule here”. While usually the updates are a bit mundane and can be repetitive, or in the case of Christian Stuff occasionally good for a quick laugh, occasionally there are real gems. Such was the case with Christvertising (links open in separate window, be sure check it out before reading the rest).

Christvertising is an effective means of advertisement, but not for the reasons Dr. Ed van Pelt claims. Basically, Christvertising claims to take intercessory prayer into the realm of business. This is theoretically a good idea for owners of Christian businesses. Who wouldn’t want God to “Bless your brand”, and over a million people to pray for your success? If you are a Christian or a “god-fearing” individual of any sort, you most likely believe in the power of prayer. You’ve been reared on it, brainwashed to it’s “power”, and maybe you’ve even experienced a few good coincidences to bolster your belief. While perhaps there is a positive placebo effect for the praying individual or a form of meditation inherent, this personal benefit does little good for say, Jesus Books Inc. or Smellgood Deodorant, two imaginary start up companies that have decided to throw in their lot with Christvertising.

Lets say we started this company, Jesus Books Inc., with the hope of distributing comic book tracts, bible commentaries, and touching personal stories from “real” Christians to “real” Christians. Since a lot of our product is free or very cheap, production costs and lack of advertising begin to take its toll. Then we partake in Dr. Ed van Pelt’s “variety of refreshments”, hear a talk similar to that on the website, and throw in our lot with Christverising. Since we believe in the power of intercessory prayer, no matter what the New York times says, we believe that it is the prayer that will work. Dr. Ed van Pelt smiles in our direction and assures us that over 1 million people will be diligently praying for Jesus Books Inc. to succeed. Over time, sales rise! The prayer must have worked!

Meanwhile, our rival, Smellgood Deodorant, hears the same talk, drinks the same coffee, and is also assured that they will succeed with 1 million people praying for them. But Smellgood Deodorant never mentions their “little secret”… their product is a knockoff product produced by child labor with poor quality goods. It does smell good, but there is little “good” about it; or at least little good that any self-respecting Christian or God of Christianity, the religion of love, would support. Regardless, their sales also rise! God must have blessed their brand!

From a quick glance, this seems too good to be true, but what is really going on beneath the cross waving and Amens?

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Over 1 million people have just been directly exposed to your product. Whether they pray for it or not now is irrelevant. Over 1 million people learn of its existence and of its approval by Christvertising, who they would likely trust if they are offering prayers for the company. Over 1 million Christians have learned of another Christian publishing company, are interested in its product, and when they find the product worthy of time and money, are willing to recommend its publications to their friends. Over 1 million people have heard of a new brand of deodorant, and the next time they go to the store are more inclined to pick it up, and when the product is good, pass the word on. Based on these facts alone, the prayer aspect of Christvertising is unnecessary. Dr. Ed van Pelt may as well just say “I’m going to introduce your product to over 1 million people” and leave the God aspect out of it, as anyone who has ever even causally watched how advertising, exposure, and sales correlate can tell you that this type of exposure to a product; from a “trusted friend” or “random stranger” (van Pelt, Christvertising) results in a higher probability of purchase. Television commercials, radio ads, and expert testimonies just don’t work the same way they used to; what is needed today is primarily brand exposure. How many of you buy what shampoo you are used to,  pick up the soft drink your friend recommended, or give the cleaning product that lady on the train raved about a chance instead of grabbing an obscure middle-of-the-road product you’ve never heard of? Again, prayer aside, all van Pelt is really doing is providing the brand with exposure. It is likely that a product looking to delve into the “Christian” niche will go to Christvertising, and Christvertising will provide those who are supposed to pray for products with an assortment of new products “geared for them”.

What if it fails? What if Jesus Books Inc productions just aren’t that good, and the spike in sales was merely temporary? Dr. Ed van Pelt is safeguarded against this. He simply says “God must not like your brand.” No one can check on the validity of this, and no one can argue with it either. The entire premise behind Christvertising is to get God to like your brand and ask for His support, so either he supports it or he doesn’t; either Christvertising works for you or it doesn’t. Who can really go to God, provided he exists as a conscious entity, and ask whether he prefers Coke or Pepsi? Not even priests can agree on what “he” wants.

In conclusion, Dr. Ed van Pelt and what he represents may be aggravating and frustrating, but quite plainly, the man has perhaps unintentionally had a stroke of genius. If he believes deeply in what is written on his site, we’ll say its unintentional, as he clearly could not have understood what he was really doing, believing prayer is the full reason a company with Christvertising would succeed. However, if he understood the real reasons the companies he supports succeed, even if he allots them as secondary, there is no doubt he has found an incredibly inventive way to tap into the belief factor on a potentially large scale. What he is doing is legal and profitable. What he is doing costs him relatively little effort. He is safe behind the shield of a god’s “preference” when things turn nasty. He is untouchable.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 5:43 am and is filed under Culture, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.