Mormon Media Observer: Ad campaign gets mixed reviews

The LDS Church's new advertising campaign has drawn mixed reviews in television and newspaper reports across the country.

The LDS Church recently launched an advertising campaign in nine U.S. markets, including Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; St. Louis; Baton Rouge, La.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Rochester, N.Y.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Oklahoma City; Tucson, Ariz.; and Jacksonville, Fla. The campaign includes ads on television, radio, billboards, bus platforms and the interior of transit vehicles.

Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported recently: "The ads arrived on the heels of an anti-Mormon backlash by some gay rights activists on the West Coast. But the campaign's designers said it responds only to numerous survey findings that half of Americans don't know a Mormon."

Oklahoma City
In a recent story, Oklahoma City's News 9 reports: "A blitz of radio and television commercials in Oklahoma City are striking a chord with area Mormons. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has started a media campaign in nine different cities including Oklahoma City. Church leaders said the goal is to dispel myths about the Mormon faith. The campaign is specifically focused on the idea that all Mormons are the same."

In the story, the ads get some positive reaction from a local advertising professor: "University of Central Oklahoma advertising professor Sandra Martin said while she doesn't believe the ads will accomplish everything the church is looking for, she does believe it's made one important step. 'People are talking about it. They've been able to cut through the clutter which is the first step to get people to listen,' Martin said."

ABC News aired the following story which quoted Mormon blogger, John Dehlin, saying the ads are "misleading." The story reads:

"'I think it's fabulous. I think it represents in many ways the best impulses of the Mormon people,' Dehlin says. 'It represents tolerance. It represents multiculturalism. It represents an empowerment of women, inclusivity.'"

The report goes on: "But Dehlin says the ads do not reflect Mormon doctrine and teachings when it comes to race, gender equality and individualism. For example, he says, 'the husband is supposed to work and the mom is supposed to stay home and take care of the kids. There's a difference between what the prophets teach us and what this PR campaign is holding up.'"