How about we harness all this creative energy and make a huge push all across the country right before Christmas with ads in lots of papers in every diocese? This unified effort would make a significant statement. Make sure you emphasize that we welcome everyone, even those who disagree with us. Imagine what we could do!

I saw the USA Today Ad and confess I was a bit befuddled at the lack of design or creativity. I asked my wife, "Who is this for?"

Seemingly, it was for people like us who know a great deal about church and the language of church. But it was very cerebral, left brained. This is not a bad thing, but it in fact didn't capture the Episcopal Church I have come to know and love, which is full of creativity, color, symbolism and community.

I applaud the National Church for moving in this direction. The Episcopal Church ought to be shared. But something more akin to the above, with a splash of one or two big ideas, with minimal words, that point people to more "ideas."

Let's keep going! But more in the direction above!

Tim Sean Youmans
Emmanuel Parish, Shawnee, OK

TEC's Communications Department decided to reach out in a national print ad with 200+ words and a single symbol, the TEC flag. If asked (not that I was) I'd characterize this design choice as a risky investment with a dubious ROI potential. The demographic that's apt to read 200+ words on a featureless page in a Sunday paper in 2009? I'd venture its white, suburban, aged 62-82.

I don't think the original ad is "bad." It is pretty informative and I said amen out loud to it.

Maybe it should be integrated with more graphic ads. Or even a microsite which would have more of a textual content, while ads, internet banners, etc would be more graphic.

The choice to buy print ads is the real mistake. The people Jesus wants us to reach don't read USA Today, and likely don't read newspapers or magazines at all. Internet or online advertising is cheaper and more effective. The USA Today ad is meant to reassure older white folks and make it look like the national church is doing something like evangelism. What if the money had been given to a 25 years-old internet communications expert? What if the money had been spent making phone calls and personally inviting people to church? What if that money had been devoted to Spanish or Mandarin language communications?

True, important things can be said in ways that make them unnecessarily difficult to hear or understand.

True, important things can be said in ways that deny or obscure the truths that are being said.

Format often speaks louder than words. A liturgical church ought to understand that.
Structure helps people understand. Again, a liturgical church should understand that.

The bullet points listed in the original ad may be a fine list of things we might feel it is important for people to know about our church. That doesn't make the original ad a good way to communicate them. The original isn't bad. It's much, much worse than that, because alongside the bullet points it communicates a number of other things about the Episcopal church. I leave it to the reader to assess their truth:

We are boring. We are verbose. We are out of touch. We speak in church jargon. We lack focus. We are incapable of producing a clear, focused statement about ourselves. We don't know what will bring people into our churches. We don't know who we are trying to reach. We welcome everybody, but we're not willing to put a lot of effort into it. We'd like to ignore all the reasons you've been hearing about us in the news.

I'm glad to see so many people trying to do better. I'd really like to know why it was done so terribly the first time.

These Ads from Atlant are more to the POINT!

Verbose print ads are a waste of time (and money) and people don´t read them...ATTENTION: 815 Public Relations, consider a print ad like a BILLBOARD on a highway (cars are speeding by and bearly have a couple of seconds to grasp to message that is usually VISUALLY appealing)...forget the ¨deeper spiritual meaning¨ of these ads (btw, the RIGHT SIDE is the PRIME side placement that is most likely read in Newspapers)...don´t waste money when ONE of these national ads could FUND a whole years salary for a capable individual to enhance, say, Evangelism!

An article in the New York Times discusses a full page ad that Consumer Reports is running in the Monday issue of USA Today. The cost of that ad? $143,000.

See here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/business/media/23consumer.html

I agree with the other comments ... this would be a fine ad if it were aimed at apologetics with other Christians. On the assumption that apologetics are not our primary aim here, we should consider what kind of language and imagery would actually appeal to our intended audience, which I hope is primarily composed of unchurched but spiritually hungry people.

And, while we are at it, let's take a look at the repeated use of the Episcopal shield in this ad. Small visual symbols can make a big statement. Can we re-think the Episcopal shield as the primary symbol of our church? A shield, after all, is something one uses to KEEP PEOPLE AWAY. I think it is safe to say that the medieval heraldry symbolism does not resonate with many 21st-century Americans. We are not trying to defend ourselves from the infidel, nor bar our doors against all but the most determined invaders, nor ward off marauding seekers. We are trying to open our doors ... so how about an open door as a symbol? Or something, anything, that conveys the passion, beauty, and life-transforming grace that so many of us have found in the Episcopal church?

If we are going to use print ads, we need to go with creativity and brevity. My only question about the original ad: are we developing a constitution or trying to attract new members? Way too many words...

Does anybody realize that what ran in USA Today is exactly the same thing that shows up on the web page, episcopalchurch.org? THIS is what we're saying to folks when they google us. It's not attractive, it's defensive, way too many words, and it misses the point. Note that nowhere does the ad or web page cover ever mention that MISSION is the core of our being. We need to do a much better job of welcoming people; a long list of bullet points that repudiate what others may think about us does nothing to welcome people, or to say that we are on a mission from God. Please, we have to do better than this, and not just in print ads.