This whole UU campaign reminds me of the marketing attempts of a former employer; the commercials were so silly, so intent on being “clever” that they were just awful. Even my grandmother made a point of telling me how bad they were.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the United Methodists and the UCC have well modeled how to advertise religion. This “we’re a religion, but not really-if that sort of thing bugs you, but if it doesn’t, well then we are. or are we? come on in to find out!” doesn’t appeal to me, anyway.

Bree on Desperate Housewives referred to Unitarians as “Anything Goes”. Welcome back Desperate Housewives!

I just knew as soon as that episode was going to address church-shopping that such a comment about Unitarians wasn’t far behind!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the United Methodists and the UCC have well modeled how to advertise religion. This “we’re a religion, but not really-if that sort of thing bugs you, but if it doesn’t, well then we are. or are we? come on in to find out!”

“Bree on Desperate Housewives referred to Unitarians as “Anything Goes”. Welcome back Desperate Housewives!”

I just knew as soon as that episode was going to address church-shopping that such a comment about Unitarians wasn’t far behind!

I wrote out a long and weakly written reply to this on my blog, but the jist of it is that I think there are a number of people who would respond well to an ad like this as I am one of the people who would have loved to have discovered the religion in this fashion.

I think the ad does what it is supposed to do. It catches your attention and makes you curious.

For a fuller more arguementative post, please click the link provided. Ta.

And I think Kim’s revision is the best: “When in prayer, listen.”

And to Lizard Eater, may your daughter be well and your prayers be answered.

But I do not think the ad is quite SO terrible, either. In New England and other areas the kind of religious diversity and flexibility UU’s take for granted is shared by many other faith communities, but there are many places where this is not true at all - many places where the kind of approach to prayer the ad promotes would be a revelation.

Although I do not think our primary mode of self-definition should be in negetaive terms, what we do not do and who we are not is still important because it does still distinguish us from most other religious communities - even in liberal places like New England. Sure, there are many liberal and progressive Episcopalians, Catholics, etc. out there, but they are often in conflict with their own faith communities. These other faiths are not as comfortable with doubt - whether in prayer or in other contexts and are expressed in their internal disputes about gay bishops, activist laity, and other things - which are not issues for UUs in nearly the same way.

And i don’t think these other faiths will be much insulted - or even upset by these ads. Who will be upset most are all the UU humanists appalled at having their religion advertised as “praying.”

All that being said, I think the slogans you suggested would be much better - more positive, substantive, and accurate. It is always more powerful to talk about who we are and what we do, than who and what we are not.

Otherwise, yep. I particularly liked your first slogan.

The “Nurture…” tagline is nice, but I hardly even noticed it until commenter “Wonder and Wondering” pointed it out here. It’s typeset in that light green, and it’s got the Chrysler-style “wing” lines on it, visually transforming it into a graphic element instead of written content.

And now that I think about that green, I realize that the big text in black makes the big text in green fade out by comparison — and the two halves of the slogan (oh, it’s not the UUA slogan? Well, it is now) are vexingly mismatched, colorwise. It’s a badly-constructed meaning sandwich. I’m getting semantic indigestion.

Also, note that this ad — intrinsically provocative, regardless of context — is in an issue of TIME dedicated to the Pope.

And good heavens, the UUA says: The May 12 issue of TIME (available on newsstands May 2) — the popular “TIME 100″ issue — will carry a UUA ad with the provocative headline, “My God is Better Than Your God” — that’s going to go over REALLY REALLY well! Yes yes, I’m sure there will be an explanatory paragraph on the page, just like in the current ad, but what will people see at first glance (and read no further)? Same thing as this time: the headline and the UUA logo. Awesome.

I admire your strength, PeaceBang, carrying on your mission while the organization repeatedly shoots itself in the foot.

To consider UUism or any alternative means to consider the possibility that there is a religion which does not look like religion as they know it. This ad (like the UCC ads) try to create that opening.

For folks more sophisticated about religion it won’t be compelling. But most folks who give up on fundamentalism don’t join UUism, Buddhism, and the like, they simply become members of the church alumni association (thank you Spong for that term).