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| The poster for the 2011 Christmas campaign. |
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CHRISTMAS STARTS WITH CHRIST
2011 CAMPAIGN
We are asking individual Christians and church fellowships to donate towards a National Christmas Advertising Fund. Every penny of this will be spent on advertising in national newspapers, on posters in major shopping centres and on radio.
Research has revealed that 85 per cent of people agree with the statement that "Christmas should be called Christmas because we are still a Christian country". But it also shows that only 12 per cent of adults know the facts of the Christmas story in any detail.
So if we Christians really want to keep Christmas focused on Christ, we must constantly re-tell the story of his birth in ways which engage positively with the public's interest.
Our "Christmas Starts with Christ" campaign re-tells the Christmas story in modern, secular contexts to capture the general public's attention and interest. Poster ads in previous years have set the nativity in a bus shelter and featured a dramatic "Jesus babyscan". Radio ads have placed the story in a football match, horse race and pop chart countdown.
Research shows 61% of people surveyed like the message "Christmas Starts with Christ", with 41% saying it makes them think more about the true meaning of Christmas.
This year we have a very simple but dramatic idea. To re-set the nativity in modern professions and high street fashions. Shepherds become cycle couriers and plasterers. Wise men are successful entrepreneurs and their gifts are iconic "treasures" of modern culture: a Swarovski crystal perfume bottle, a Faberge egg and a highly decorated skull. All are sharply dressed. But the traditional nativity arrangement is unchanged, with Jesus as its clear focus. And the message is compelling: "However you dress it up... Christmas Starts with Christ".
It's the meeting of Christianity and high street consumerism, with Christ in the middle.
In the final few days before Christmas, millions of people will be heading for shopping centres. Could there be a better time to expose them to this Christian message?
Church leaders across the denominations have welcomed the campaign and are urging Christians and churches all over the country to get involved. |
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