Like most, I get all kinds of unsolicited stuff in the mail, but today was startling because I got a whole flyer from Fox with titles of "Christian Movies" (see pic-link for website, "FOX FAITH, Films You Can Believe In"). According to the site, films must have "overt Christian content or be derived from the work of a Christian author".
Even labotomized I'd have a hard time looking to Fox for edited lists of anything, but this one caught my eye because it had a logo and a slick layout. I thought to myself, "OMG, they are branding faith itself!".
So, I did a little Googlish searcharoo, to see just how clueless I have been about this. And sure enough, it is true. One can even get a class in how to brand your ministry. Oh course I knew that there were "Celebrity Ministries" on the airwaves, but for some reaon my jaw hit the floor that someone would actually use Madison Avenue techniques to brand faith. Is it me, or does this go way beyond just run-of-the-mill merchandising of Christian t-shirts ("Jesus Saves") and such?
Branding Faith: Transform Your Church or Ministry through a Powerful Brand
April 17, 2007 • 10:00AM - 10:45AM
Las Vegas Convention Center N119
What do people think of when they think of your ministry? Change the perception of your media ministry, separate yourself from the pack, and discover what makes your ministry unique and different. In a media-driven culture, a unique brand is everything, and this powerful workshop will change your thinking about how to present your church or ministry to the world.
Presenter Phil Cooke, Producer/Director, Phil Cooke Pictures, Inc, Burbank, CA
I ... I don't even know where to start. And maybe that is what they see as their opportunity. Well, I've heard that if you buy your faith from the "good" people at FOX, you will get a virgin - in this lifetime! - and a front row seat in heaven.
[See also: The Mobile Word: Verizon Christens Faith-Based Mobile Content, at Branding Unbound ... My quip above aside, I can wonder what is going to happen when FOX decides something is Christian enough but Verizon doesn't think so ... What if some content provider comes up with a campaign like "More Faith, Less Froth than those other brands ..." Or even yet, "Christians don't just turn the other cheek, they look away ... to Horizon Pictures"]
edit: Here is the backstory, courtesy of Mark Joseph at National Review:
Fox Faith was created after 20th Century Fox missed a chance to distribute The Passion Of the Christ theatrically, but picked up home video rights. Seventeen million copies later, it has turned out to be a cash cow for the studio. Fox didn’t intend to miss out on opportunities like this in the future.
...Tellingly, there’s the name, Fox Faith, which presumes a number of things about this country — namely, that the U.S. is a secular nation, hungry for secular entertainment divorced from morality and faith, ...
sullylink
