December (Web-only) 2004

ARTICLE TOOLS

Find similar articles E-mail this page

God endorses Moe's Southwest Grill
Remember those "God Speaks" billboards that turned up nationwide from 1999 to 2001? They had messages like "Let's meet at my house Sunday before the game" and "We need to talk," and were supposedly signed by God.

Actually, they were the product of an anonymous donor, the Smith Agency, and the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. And the story didn't end so well: The Smith Agency went under, as (apparently) did its parent company, and the whole "God Speaks" affair became embroiled in a lawsuit when Smith Agency chairman Andrew D. Smith and Charles Robb, and decided to turn the campaign into a book, which quickly went out of print. A research paper presented in August by scholars from Michigan State University's Department of Advertising wonders if the campaign really worked at all.

Apparently someone thought it was memorable. Down in Orlando, a new billboard has popped up. It's still signed by God, but the text is, "Welcome to Moe's," and it's an ad for Moe's Southwest Grill. Only Moe's corporate officials say they never approved the ad, and ordered the local restaurant to take it down.

Local pastor Enric Richard complained to television station WKMG, "You just don't use God's name that way. It should not be taken lightly and casually. It is sacred. There are consequences to doing something like this. Judgment can come on those who use the Lord's name in such a vain fashion."

I sense a trend article coming, or perhaps even a book: Examine the difference between religious advertising and advertising that uses religious imagery. Examine advertising outlets' policies toward the two. Examine the use of God in both. Use Moe's as one case study, the UCC ad (which doesn't mention God) as another. ...