Driving through Nashville over the weekend (to and from Atlanta) we noticed a couple of billboards that had a picture of hurricane damage and said “Jesus cares… and so do Southern Baptists.”
I guess that the billboards are part of the campaign to get the town revved up for the convention itself next week. By the way, can you imagine how many gospel tracts are going to be left with tips at local restaurants? And please never EVER leave a tract if you don’t leave at least a 20% tip with it. In fact, I’d go so far as to say don’t visibly ask a blessing if you’re gonna be cheap.
Anyway, the billboards made me wonder if the SBC has decided to embark on a public relations campaign similar to the Mormon campaign that began in the 90’s. If so, I wonder if that’s a good idea or not. Does the Southern Baptist Convention need to brand itself and market itself or not?
Genuine question – leave a comment with your thoughts.
Speaking of branding, many of you know (and many don’t) that the state of Kentucky is trying to brand itself with the slogan, “Unbridled spirit.” The idea is to create a positive association when people think of Kentucky so that they will want to do business here, open businesses here, and vacation here. (Let’s be honest, the chances of Kentucky ever being a hot vacation destination are slim.)
On the road this weekend, it occurred to us that one thing Kentucky could do to create a positive impression of the state (or alleviate a negative one) would be to try to take care of its roads! You know you’ve crossed the border into KY when the ride starts getting bumpy and noisy. How many people drive from states to the north on their way to the beach or other points south? Leaving a favorable impression with them might involved actually trying to take care of the roads!
While I’m on the subject of billboards….
One time several years ago, when driving through rural South Carolina, Keri and I saw a billboard in the middle of nowhere that had two simple lines of text.
First, in white block lettering (on black) it said “Turn to Jesus.”
The next line was italicized in some kind of neon orange color: “Or Burn in Hell.”
I mention that because yesterday we saw a billboard in Tennessee that simply said in similar white on black block lettering: “HELL IS REAL.”
Such a billboard is amusing enough, but especially when we noticed that it was across the interstate from an establishment called “Adult Superstore.” I thought that was amusing… though I would imagine that such messages probably result in more laughs than soul-searching. But who knows.