Controversy in Super Bowl LVI: What Does It Mean to Love Your Neighbor?

 


The longest Super Bowl game in history will also be remembered the most-watched program in U.S. television history. According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, Kansas City's 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco on Sunday night averaged 123.7 million viewers across television and streaming platforms.

For this Super Bowl, CBS sold 30-second television spots for $7 million (or $133,000 per second). That does not include production and talent costs, of course. You may look at your checking account and think $7 million is a lot. But advertisers consider it a way to reach a large audience for about half a penny per person!

Plus, Super Bowl commercials have become a phenomenon in their own right, creating social media buzz and gaining views on YouTube. A 2020 survey revealed that 79 percent of viewers see the commercials as entertainment. After the 2019 Super Bowl, consumers spent 641 thousand hours watching Super Bowl ads on YouTube!

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar. The spectacle surrounding the event is watched by millions around the world. As a result, advertisers use the Super Bowl to raise awareness for their products, events and ideas.

This is seen very clearly in two 2024 ads about neighbors.

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR

State Farm started using  "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There" as its tagline in 1974 with a jingle written by Barry Manilow. The tagline became iconic. State Farm stopped using the campaign in 2016 in favor of "Here to Help Life Go Right.” But State Farm brought  "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There" back in 2021.

State Farm enlisted star power for the Super Bowl with TV spots “Like a Good Neighbah.” The ad is memorable and funny. But did you notice that ad says a good neighbor would 1) go into a burning house to rescue your two puppies; 2) carry a lady in labor out of a house; 3) stop a crashing helicopter, 4) protect a herd of sheep; 5) and apparently have a sense of humor.

Check out the commercial here.

HE GETS US

A second series of ads focused on loving your neighbors is the one that has apparently been controversial for everyone. One ad from He Gets Us puts an emphasis on washing the feet of rivals or people who are in opposition. The 15-second Love Your Neighbor ad drew its own criticism as well.

The 15-second ad is seen here. 

The full website for the campaign is online here.

The online comments got hateful quickly. Critics said the ad had the wrong focus. Others predictably criticized the money this non-profit spent on the ads. If their goal was to ignite conversations, it was well-spent money.

The non-profit foundation that paid for the ads had this to say about the commercial: “The night before he died, Jesus got his friends and followers together and washed their feet as a symbolic example of how they should humble themselves while dignifying and valuing others. How would our contentious world change if people, especially those with opposing ideologies, took off their shoes and washed each other’s feet?”

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet.” John 13:14.

I noticed the ad has none of the low-status sins: someone watching porn online, a foul-mouthed MAGA rally attendee, or someone at the Capital on Jan. 6. The ad highlights high-profile (popular) sins without suggesting repentance or change. Jesus redeems sinners on both the left and the right. When you fail to do that you run the risk of downplaying the Biblical Jesus in favor of the culturally sanitized Jesus.

WHAT IS A NEIGHBOR?

Both commercials and the response to them say something about our culture. 

You can argue about the art or the money if you want, but how do you argue about what it means to love someone? 

Is it wrong to show love to someone who opposes you?

When is love and kindness and forgiveness and mercy and grace wrong? The short answer is never. 

Selfishness and pride are wrong, but they are currently embraced by our culture. Both ads miss the mark on "Love Your Neighbor." It is the sin of selfishness that has kept people inside their homes and out of their neighbor's lives. 

Challenge that culturally approved concept in an advertisement and I will applaud. 

But for now, I will enjoy both commercials for this simple reason: when anyone is talking about what it means to be a good neighbor, we all benefit. 

What can you do today to demonstrate love to a neighbor?


MORE INFORMATION

Does this article make you interested in taking the Engaged Neighbor pledge? Five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge online at http://engagedneighbor.com.

Contact the blog author, David L. Burton at dburton541@yahoo.com.

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