I will admit to knowing absolutely nothing about professional marketing, so I am completely open to having a Madison Avenue insider inform and enlighten me on this subject in the event that I am missing something here. But…
Have you seen the Dr. Pepper TEN commercial? It is a 30-second TV advertisement built around a cheesy action movie scenario, complete with a running gun battle through the jungle, a surprise attack by a snake, rolling boulders, a leap from a cliff, and a pursuit by three assailants on motorcycles. The spot promotes “what guys want” in a soda, i.e., Dr. Pepper’s 23 flavors with “only 10 manly calories.” The commercial ends with the tagline, “Dr. Pepper TEN! It’s not for women!”
I understand that the spot is tongue-in-cheek, but still! “It’s not for women?” Seriously? Why would a company that is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars (perhaps millions) on advertising intentionally run the risk of alienating half of their potential market? It’s like saying, “Dr. Pepper TEN. It’s not for brown-haired people!” Some women will undoubtedly buy the product, drink it, and will probably like it. But, if I were a woman, my attitude would be, “Okay, fine! I’ll spend my money on something else. Let’s see if your marketing genius keeps his job.” I say “his” job because I can’t imagine that a woman dreamed up this ad campaign.
So, what has this got to do with anything other than soft drinks?
The commercial got me thinking about how we in our churches present ourselves to people in our communities; not as overtly as in the TV spot, but in much more subtle and, perhaps, unintentional ways.
When someone visits your congregation, is it possible that from attending the worship service, interacting with members (or not), and receiving information about the church’s ministries, that he or she could write a tagline? “The Main Street Church! It’s not for singles!” “It’s not for the divorced!” “It’s not for anyone over (or under) 35!” “It’s not for the ethnically diverse!” “It’s not for the economically disadvantaged!” “It’s not for the chronically ill!”
Something to think about!
Thinking Out Loud 
2 comments
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January 16, 2012 at 8:25 am
Anthony
Great post, Tim. But you left unwritten the most obvious perception that most people would have of our churches — “It’s not for women.” Sure, there are plenty of women in the pews, but strangely (in the eyes of most people) absent from any kind of public role. There may be good, biblical reasons for that, but we have to recognize that our churches will be perceived as sexist unless we are intentional about overcoming that perception.
January 16, 2012 at 11:57 am
Tim Pyles
Excellent point, Anthony, and thanks for filling in the blank. That is indeed a very real perception that some will have, especially if they look no further than a Sunday morning worship assembly. I think we do have to be very intentional about communicating and revealing to people how much “life in the body” could not and would not happen without the faith, love, commitment, involvement, and service of women in the church. I get to witness it on a daily and weekly basis; too many ministries to name where women of God “make it happen.” It’s interesting and somewhat ironic that so much commentary and effort has been rightfully expended to remind us that our relationship with Jesus and our place in His body is not just about what happens during one hour on Sunday morning, while at the same time insisting that the value, role, and place of women in the body should be assessed and measured by the confines of that same hour.