Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) (AOC) was not a fan of the Christian commercials that aired during Sunday night’s Super Bowl, going on to say that Jesus wouldn’t like them either.
“Something tells me Jesus would not spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign,” she tweeted.
But if you’re looking at your Facebook news feed, you may recognize they were some of the best-received commercials during the night.
The Christian group He Gets Us reportedly spent $20 million on two Super Bowl advertisements that showed Jesus as someone with empathy for immigrants and the poor, who also is tired of the division of politics. The advertising campaign is funded in part by the family behind Hobby Lobby, as well as Christian groups and other anonymous donors. The ads were an effort to spread the message of Jesus to LGBTQ+ people and other communities that often have felt unwelcome by Christianity.
Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 13, 2023
One commercial shows a slideshow of black-and-white images of migrants fleeing their homes to avoid persecution. The ad reveals that the story is actually about Jesus, his mother Mary and her husband Joseph. The other ad displays black-and-white images of disputes between people over racial justice, pandemic lockdowns and politics. The ad then states, “Jesus loved the people we hate.”
Watch the commercial here:
The He Gets Us campaign was launched in March 2022 and plans to spend $2 billion over the next several years. The ads direct viewers to a website that includes Bible readings, methods to chat with real people about religion and information about Jesus.
The ads were aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs ultimately won the contest 38-35 after a game-winning field goal by Harrison Butker.
Ocasio-Cortez, who identifies as Catholic, previously has channeled her faith to wade into political skirmishes. Back in 2020, she suggested that conservatives largely would reject Jesus if he were here today.
