Christianity – a marketing revelation

While agreeing with much of what Andrew Finan had to say about Jesus Christ being a very effective marketer and communicator (MW last week), I disagree with his criticism of our 1999 “Che Guevara” campaign. It was not “dangerous, in that it equated a person whom some see as a terrorist with Christian values”. We used the image in an allegorical sense, to show Jesus in a different perspective.

He was, after all, undoubtedly a revolutionary character – someone who has had a greater influence on the world than any other person. But he was a non-violent revolutionary. He lived and died for others and gave us a message (that has never been more relevant) of love, justice and forgiveness.

The Churches Advertising Network was established ten years ago in order to encourage Christian churches to take a pro-active stance in terms of promoting Christ’s message in a modern, relevant way to a society that has become increasingly detached from Christian values.

We have much still to do and our brand is definitely in need of a relaunch. The core product is undiminished in its quality, though too few realise this. But the way we have packaged it needs a close look and we certainly need to encourage sampling among non-users and retrial among the lapsed!

Francis Goodwin

Acting chairman

Churches Advertising Network

London WC1H