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Publicity and Bible: do they make a good couple? M. Junkal Guevara Llaguno Madrid / Religion – C. R. Haas defined publicity as "the science that studies the most adequate proceedings for the popularization of certain ideas, or in order to establish economic relations between individuals in situation of offering goods or services and others who are in situation of using such goods". (1). We must point out that C.R. Haas’s definition stresses in publicity not only its capacity to offer goods, but also its condition of being the means of transmitting ideas. Because publicity usually uses the characters, traditions and situations that shape the beliefs shared by a given social group. The world of publicity is a wide and complex one. There are simple campaigns and very sophisticated strategies. There are commercial breaks which are broadcast through the radio, where the word is the clue and TV. spots where everything is in the image and the sound. There is graphic publicity, publicity on the daily press and magazines and it is increasing rapidly in the web. VALUING RELEVANCE On certain occasions, the treatment of biblical issues is used to stress their relevance in the contexts in which they are used: the Famosa dolls. FAMOSA (Fábricas Agrupadas Muñecas Onil Sociedad Anónima) is probably, the oldest toy factory in Spain. In 1968, the manufacture of the doll named Nancy becomes a major market success, which is intensified with the publicity campaign that the brand develops for the first time in 1970. It was a campaign focused in an advertisement that had a Christmas carol that said: "The Famosa dolls are going to the portal / to give the child their love and friendship. / And Jesus, in the crib /smiles because he is happy. / Christmas Eve of love / joyous Christmas / is the happy message of the Famosa dolls". The iconography of the spot had been constructed based on the images of the texts concerning the birth of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel (Lk. 2,6-8. 15-20): the portal with the holy family (Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus) and the visit of the shepherds. The text contributed to the image with the religious message of Christmas time: the love and happiness implied in the Christmas festivities (…) Throughout the years, there have been five versions of this advertisement (2): 1970, 1980, 1994, 1999 and 2006. If we compare all the advertisements, what the publicity has always maintained has been the lyrics of the original carol, which, as the years have passed, have given the company an identity which has established itself in Spanish publicity and is now part of the collective memory (3). Now, the biblical iconography which was so clear in the 1970 and 1980 advertisements (although the latter reinterpreted the staging), it disappeared in 1994 and was replaced, according to the times, by a more Saxon esthetic where the biblical element disappears and other elements are introduced as images related to Christmas: the tree and the snowman. The 1999 ad, despite keeping the lyrics of the original version of the carol, completely banished any image that could suggest the idea of Christmas, because the publicity wanted the FAMOSA brand –and therefore consumption- to be related to any month of the year. While at it, they also substituted the dolls and girls by toys and a mixture of boys and girls. Finally, the 2006 ad retakes the primitive ad as well as its iconography, but not as something that recovers its value, but as an event of the past which is recalled without assuming it, because none of the images that suggested biblical motives appear in the Christmas esthetic of 2006, probably because by then they lacked meaning. BROADCASTING THE MESSAGE Sometimes, the elements of the message of the biblical text are transmitted in the message that the publicity seeks. In the Peruvian presidential campaign of 2005, the Instituto Peruano de Publicidad (IPP) called the annual nation-wide Creatividad Radial Junior competition, which was won by a group of four students of that same Institute who came up with a 24-second jingle which sought to stimulate the participation in the 2006 presidential elections. The text was as follows: "Who shall I set free, Jesus of Nazareth of Barabbas? / Barabbas! / Your choice can change the sign of history. / Choose wisely. / Vote responsibly" (4). The strength of the biblical text which is only present in Matthew’s Gospel lies, on one hand in the opposition and rejection that the people of Israel express towards Jesus of Nazareth, and on the other, the responsibility of Pilate, who, doubting his guilt, does not liberate him (5). The announcement focuses basically in the consequences of choosing Barabbas, although is entails the presumption that the course of history and consequently the life and death of Jesus depended solely on the choice made by the people. The biblical scene elected for the campaign has tremendous force, but probably the use made of it is poor because the text is not understood fully in all its richness. CHANGING THE MESSAGE There are plenty of occasions when the biblical tale is changed in order to give a completely different message. "Super Cerdo" is a Chilean leading pork-producing company with an annual production of around 2,900,000 pigs. Noah’s Ark, which is an image of the brand, appears in Super Cerdo’s portal ( www.supercerdo.cl ) and has been the subject of its campaigns in 2003 (one advertisement), 2004 (three ads), 2005 (two ads) and 2006 (one ad). The advertisement we are going to comment lasts 46 seconds and starts with a sight of Ark, which has already been built. There are several animals waiting outside and there is also Noah, who hears a thunder and says: "the time has come". Upon hearing the command "It’s time to go!", Noah boards the Ark and closes the palisade, but we can see that the animals have been left outside. In the following scene, Noah’s wife and daughter look out of the window and wonder: "Haven’t we left something behind?" Noah looks towards the inside of the Ark and sees a large herd of pigs, while he answers his wife’s question: "Nothing, Yael, nothing". That’s when an off-camera voice says: "because it is healthier, so much tastier. Supercerdo / you will forget the other meats". Here the animals are left outside the Ark once the Flood starts and it is of no concern since Noah and his family are safe inside and they have only let the pigs inside, because they will be their food in the future. The pigs, whose meat is healthier and tastier, are the only ones who will be saved; we can forget about all the other animals and consequently, their meat. TRIVIALIZATION OF THE MESSAGE On other occasions, the biblical text is used to trivialize its message. In July 2007, Getafe C.F. launched a publicity campaign: "Everything for the sake of my team" (6), in order to get more members for the 2007-08 season. It was based in a 57 second advertisement which was entrusted to a new agency, "El Ruso de Rocky". The spot starts by recreating the image of the biblical scene of Isaac’s sacrifice (Gn22), while we hear Abraham say: "Listen to me! Who do you think you are that you believe I would kill my own son just because you ask me to? That will never happen". After that a young man depicted with the typical iconography of Jesus –long, straight hair and a sweet look in his eyes…– which suggests the episode of the temptations (in Mark’s version –Mc 1,12.13– the shortest one), while we hear: "Do you really believe I would condemn my soul to wander in the desert for forty years? Not for you". Then it is the turn of Joan of Arc –who is not a biblical character– who is shown tied to a pole over a pyre which is about to burn, while we hear: "You can put out the fire, I discovered a long time ago I would not burn to death to defend your name". Then it is Adam’s turn who, lying at the foot of a tree and touching a wound on his side, recalls the creation of the woman (Gn 2,21-22) while he shouts: "You’re nut if you think I will rip off one of my own ribs just to satisfy your whim". Lastly, we see Jesus Christ depicted in the Cross (Mt 27, 29.35), with the crown of thorns, wearing jeans, who speaks to God, saying: "Listen real good, not for you". And then we see an overprinted label that says: "my team comes first". The club presented the campaign in the Alfonso Pérez Coliseum on July 11th, 2007 and it immediate became an amazing controversy. The bishopric of Getafe issued a note saying that "together with the popular clamor that considers these images clearly irreverent and a blasphemy, the national media agree in pointing out their controversial and provocative nature" (7). In turn, Alternativa Española (8) presented a Denounce (9) before the Office of the Attorney of the High Court of Justice of Madrid. The Getafe C.F. was finally forced to withdraw part of the campaign (10); curiously, only the first biblical scene, the one of Abraham’s sacrifice, which is the only one that could hurt the sensitivity of Christians, Jews and Muslims, who recognize in it a crucial element of their religious tradition, was withdrawn from the video. AN AMBIGUOUS USAGE From this analysis we can infer, in the first place, that publicists consider that religious traditions are still acknowledged by most western consumers: in fact, if we make a ranking of campaigns that focus on religious elements, most of them consider a concrete biblical text or tradition: the Flood, the mission of Jesus, the Last Supper, the creation of the two sexes… On the other hand, we have seen that there are some usages of biblical tradition which, as well as contributing with creative reinterpretations –the ark/car, for instance– enhance other usages, even pastoral ones. As the Pontifical Council for Social Communications recognizes (11): "Publicity can bring happiness into the lives of people simply by being witty, fun and of good taste". On the whole, by using stories, images and biblical subjects –which are usually very suggestive because they tell stories– and in a frame where the creative freedom of the agents is the rule, the use of these texts can turn out to ambiguous and even provoke the anger of and damage to a part of the public, creating an ethic problem. Besides, if we consider that the publicity discourse needs to call upon the addressees, we have to assume the risk that there might be some changes, deletions or modifications of the elements of the biblical tradition, which can dilute or confound the addressees of the message not only regarding the literal aspect of the texts, but also in relation to the religious message they contain. On the other hand, if we recognize the direct relation that publicity has with the collective imaginary, we must be aware that some usages of biblical texts can imply, for instance, the trivialization or a frivolous treatment of the texts, which, apart from the literary value, have a religious value for the different communities. We cannot forget that every publicity has the function of showing the lack of problems, and that it tends to show only the pleasant, nice, leisurely side… of life. Using biblical subject can imply the risk of mocking at them as well. In view of all that has been said, we could place ourselves in a pessimistic vision of the relation Bible-publicity, but however, we dare say that the Bible-publicity tandem can be quite fruitful: for a start, the usage of biblical traditions in publicity supposes broadcasting these traditions, a possibility for them to remain in the social imaginary and this can be favorable from the pastoral point of view, for example. Besides, the creativity with which the publicists use the texts can help believers themselves to read them more attentively and discover new angles we are often unaware of because of our routine contact with them. All in all, as in every relation, Bible and publicity need to maintain a respectful relation in order to be a truly good couple. (1) Quoted by M. FANDOS y M. J. MARTÍNEZ, "La publicidad: un nuevo escenario para la comunicación", in Comunicar 5 (1995) 16. (2) They can all be seen in the company’s webpage (on-line) http://www.famosa.es/, consultation March 3rd, 2008. (3) "The creator of the ‘Famosa’ dolls, Ramón Sempere, dies", El País (on-line), May 27th, 2004, http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/Fallece/creador/munecas/ Famosa/Ramon/Sempere/elpepueco/20040527elpepueco_3/Tes, consultation March 3rd, 2008. (4) http://www.filmsperu.com/articulo725.asp (5) U. LUZ, El evangelio según San Mateo. Mt 26-28, vol. IV, Sigueme, Salamanca, 2005, 368 370. (6) http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=I1ZipetwXFE (7) http://www.camineo.info/news/163/ARTICLE/3403/2007-07-11.html (8) "In short, Alternativa Española is a political project of men and women who consider that a modern Spain is possible without resigning our Christian roots" (on-line) http://www.alternativaespanola.com/, consultation March 4th, 2008. (9) http://www.hazteoir.org/node/5074 (10) http://www.theorangemarket.com/2007/07/el-getafe-cf-retira-parte-de-sucampaa.html (11) PONTIFICIO INSTITUTO PARA LAS COMUNICACIONES SOCIALES, "Ética en la publicidad", in Ecclesia 2.832 (1997) 32. |
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