Unitarian Universalists Take their Message to the Football Field
December 19, 2007
Boston, MA—The Unitarian Universalist Association will be advertising their liberal faith in the official programs for thirteen college bowl games. The historic American denomination, with roots going back to the Pilgrims and Puritans, has rarely used traditional advertising venues, but this year the church of John Adams and Ralph Waldo Emerson has embarked on a national marketing campaign. The college bowl advertisements will augment a series currently running in TIME magazine, all with the tag-line, “Nurture Your Spirit. Help Heal our World.” The bowl game ads will also include the message, “Find Us and Ye Shall Seek."
Unitarians are perhaps best known for taking strong stands on controversial social issues. For instance, in 1996 the denomination voted to support same-sex marriage, and in 2006 it committed to fight global warming. So why is this progressive organization appealing to a mainstream sports audience?
UUA President, Rev. William G. Sinkford, explained this new strategy: “This opportunity was simply too good to pass up. We’ve said for years that we want to be in the center of the conversation rather than on the margins. In our nation, there are few things closer to the center than holiday football games.”
The thirteen bowl games include the
Tostito’s Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona; the Toyota Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida; the
Alamo Bowl in San Antonio,
Texas, and ten other games during
the holiday season.
The print ads in game programs are
expected to reach more than 2 million people. Rev. Tracey Robinson-Harris, the UUA’s Director of
Congregational Services, remarked, “This is an audience of young
adults and their families, of college students and alums. These are people
who value community, and we believe our religion has something special to offer
them."
For more information about the national marketing campaign, including images of the ads and a ten-minute video introducing Unitarian Universalism, please visit the UUA’s marketing website.
The Unitarian Universalist Association is a faith community of more than 1,000 self-governing congregations that bring to the world a vision of religious freedom, tolerance and social justice. For more information on the UUA, including recent press releases and news articles, please visit our online pressroom.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
