Best ads of the 2000s

Adweek is hosting a “crowd-sourced” competition to find the best ads etc of the past decade. I’m happy to report that my Budweiser wassup! work is nominated twice (three times if you count Goodby’s shameless bandwagon-jumping parody). So get over there and vote in both “best superbowl ad of the decade” and “best campaign of the decade”. Look sharpish now! click here. thanks.

HOW MY SMART CAR BROUGHT ME CLOSER TO JESUS

A couple of years back we were pitching SMART CAR USA. So in order to get familiar with the brand we bought a SMART car. Which i subsequently drove around Chicago. I recently got rid of it in favor of a bitching Scion xB.

The radio in the SMART car was weird. It would only pick up one radio station clearly. 90.1 WMBI, an evangelical Christian radio station based here in Chicago. So consequently i ended up listening to something I would never ordinarily hear. It was fascinating to me to eavesdrop on this culture. Much like my idea of heaven is to overhear strangers’ conversations on trains and planes. The more mundane the better. I just love it.

Here’s what I learned about the evangelical Christians.

They are motivated and organized. They do not believe in separation of church and state. they feel it is their duty to represent and push for Christian teachings in the “public square” as they put it. They really believe the story of Genesis and it bothers them that evolution is taught in schools.

They are hardcore social conservatives. They believe homosexuality is a choice and a sin. They bitterly oppose abortion.

They believe the bible to be literally true. And that it is the word of god. As a Roman catholic i found it fascinating to hear them constantly analyzing the scriptures for meaning and guidance.

They like the idea that Christianity is “under attack” and the culture is hopelessly polluted by sin. What i mean is they, or at least this radio station anyway, would constantly cite random loony court cases and events as incontrovertible evidence that Christianity in the USA is on its last legs and the whole thing is about to go to hell in the proverbial handbasket. And only they can save it! This was a recurring theme.

Which perhaps is a result of their belief that the end is coming just as the book of Revelations predicted. And only those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour will be assumed unto heaven in “the rapture”.

They are well funded. Evangelicals are generous towards their churches.

Their preachers all have “Dr.” in front of their name. And they sort of play the role of Jesus when preaching. Which I found kind of disturbing. They could be very dogmatic and stern. One of their biggest stars is a Scottish hellfire and brimstone preacher with a booming voice who i found very entertaining and compelling. Evangelical preachers put on quite a show.

All in all i found them to be a well-meaning and sincere bunch. And i’ve noticed that i find myself tuning in occasionally still. Maybe Jesus really does want me for a sunbeam.