GODBABY: The must have gift this Christmas?

 

Just what will be the most popular children’s gift this Christmas? The world famous Hamley’s toy shop in London recently predicted a break-dancing Mickey Mouse could win by a whisker (no, really). But what if it were the baby Jesus that took the spotlight this year?

And with that in mind, a very different image of the baby Jesus is due to hit the streets in December, with the new Godbaby poster from ChurchAds.net – the Churches Advertising Network.

Resource pack FREE for churches

The striking image of a fictional ‘Godbaby toy’ aims to make the Christmas story appeal to the younger generation, and puts Christ at the centre of conversations – and all the creative resources and advice will be available to churches for FREE.”

"It’s another strong and arresting image,” Said Bishop Nick Baines, giving the image an enthusiastic thumbs up. “It will surprise some and disturb others - which is exactly what the real Jesus did. And it forces us beyond the tinsel to the human reality of 'God among us’.”

The cute brown-eyed boy doll in a blue baby grow represents the baby Jesus, and plays on the idea of Christmas being a time when everyone is searching for that ‘must-have’ Christmas gift. It carries the slogan – ‘GodBaby - He cries, He wees, He saves the world’ and is the latest advert from the ‘Christmas Starts with Christ…’ campaign, including radio advertising – now in its fourth year and with research showing 42% of people seeing it say ‘it makes me think more about the true meaning of Christmas’.

ChurchAds.net Trustee, Mike Elms, a former advertising executive, said: “Research shows that 84% of people believe that ‘Christmas should be called Christmas because we are still a Christian society’ and yet society still seems set on airbrushing Christ out of His festivity. So, our campaign places a Christ-focused message at the heart of the seasonal consumerism: on shopping centre posters; on commercial radio; in the pages of our daily newspapers.”

Supported by Premier Christian Media, The Jerusalem Trust, and all major Christian denominations, the aim of the campaign is to remind people of the real meaning of Christmas.

To maximise the impact of the message, ChurchAds.net is asking individuals and churches to make a donation to a National Christmas Advertising fund. The aim is to raise enough money to cover the placing of posters at bus stops, buy airtime for specially commissioned radio ads, and buy colour ads in national and regional newspapers. For more information and a FREE campaign activation pack and resources, visit: www.churchads.net