Is the Mormon Church’s new television campaign “I’m A Mormon” a way to prepare America for a Mitt Romney presidential run? Or just a way to remind us that the anti-gay religious outfit has sleeper cells all across America?
Kidding. This writer doesn’t have a problem with Mormons, just the anti-gay ones and the institution. (Really, believe whatever scripture you want. It’s your fantasy land.) But I am very curious about the ads popping up in random, medium-sized TV markets like Colorado Springs, Pittsburgh, Rochester, and Minneapolis. (The ads aren’t online, but are cut from the same cloth as these videos.) Salon‘s Alex Pareene notes the ads are popping up in swing state markets, lending credence to the theory they’re just a foundation for Romney’s normalization strategy, but the church refutes the notion.
Fine. But put something out like this, and it’s gonna go viral. Enter the spoofage:
Geoff M
I hate conspiracy theories, but after watching ‘8’… this kind of news about the Mormon church makes me nervous. If we don’t take them seriously as a threat now, imagine what we’ll be dealing with if Mitt Romney becomes POTUS.
Cam
Does the woman in the commercial say
“Hi, i’m Joy, and I’m a Mormon.” As a mormon, I believed that blacks were a lower form of humanity and should not be allowed into our church as full members until around 1980. Around that time the P.R. became terrible, especially with schools like Stanford leading a boycott against playing BYU because of our bigotry against minorities. So there was a religious revelation! And suddenly we allowed blacks to be able to enter our wonderful church! (Though we still try to keep them, the Samoans, and the Hispanics in separate wards.
As for gays, well thank goodness for them, because as Mormons, the only thing we like more than playing the “Misunderstood Victim” is to discriminate. Now that we cannot do that against blacks anymore we certainly are happy that gays exist. Gays allow us to not only express our bigotry in the typical Mormon ways “Exclusion from our church”, but in NEW and EXCITING ways that were not available to us when we only discriminated against blacks. For example, we can try to prevent gays from getting married! Something we couldn’t do with blacks because of that pesky Supreme Court.
So once again, I’m Joy and I’m a Mormon. We’re not bigots. We just hate fags. (and we still hate blacks too…but shhhhh, we’re not supposed to say that when non-Mormons are around.)
Wonka
These adds will not go over well , like they did in the 80’s and 90’s becase of recent events.
reason
The only good thing about Sarah Palin running in 2012 along with Huckabee is they can galvanize evangelicals, and smear the Mormons and Mitt Romney. Its going to be a united front against Mittens and his church knows it, they learned something from 2008. They are lusting for Mittens to make it to the oval office were they can exert their power over Mitt and cross that separation of churchy statey think to leave their nasty imprint on America. If the Morman church wants to enter the political realm then so be it an organization needs to immediately start running a campaign against them and I am ready to donate.
patrick
The pundits have been talking lately about Sarah Palin running for president in 2012. Can this really be happening?! She’s the stupidest woman on the planet! She’s such a buffoon who can’t even string 2 sentences together, or have an intelligent thought. I just cannot fathom her running! Why is this not a joke?! And god forbid she ever won the election! I would be on the first flight outta here!
Queer Supremacist
@reason: I will support ANYONE against Mitt Romney. Anyone. I will vote for Louis fucking Farrakhan before I vote for a Mormon.
@Cam: As Rose Nylund would say, “That was a real Tour de France!” Seriously.
That poor pro-gay Mormon girl Sarah’s gonna get excommunicated before you can sing the first chorus of “One Bad Apple.”
Dollie
@Cam: Not to mention the church’s support of shock therapy… which they “haven’t practiced since the 90s!”… They swear!!!
Rikard
part of the anti gay marriage pr campaign the mormons intensified with prop8 is intended to align them with evangelicals and catholics. those large, mobilized voting blocks proved damaging to mormons running for national office, namely Mitt R.
Rikard
@Cam: love you
Dan
Do the commercials mention the founder of LDS Mormonism started killing his own followers, and Americans tried and found him guilty of treason, and he was killed trying to escape jail? They probably don’t mention that tid bit.
Clint
UGH mormons, stop it. I was raised mormon and Cam, you hit it right on the nose.
Chris P
Let’s just point out that Joy is not a good Mormon, as judged by her appearance in the video in a top that shows shoulder. (@1:12)
“Immodest clothing includes short shorts and skirts, tight clothing, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and other revealing attire. Young women should wear clothing that covers the shoulder and avoid clothing that is low-cut in the front or the back or revealing in any other manner.”
Maybe this is a change in Church Doctrine?
Brian
I am Brian, and I live in Oklahoma City where this ad campaign has become a regular occurrence on radio and television alike.
As a homosexual, I take great offense to these ads. Even though I live in the bible belt, it is not common to have commercials for churches that use propaganda to this magnitude.
The extent of the usual church commercials are basically “We’re here for friends, family, good times, good values. Come to such and such church and see what we’re about.” The end. They are always clear and concise about the purpose of their commercials- to invite people to come see what they’re about.
These mormon adverts SCREAM propaganda. They use subtlety to try and get their messages across, and I have NEVER seen a church try and use advertising this sneakily to get converts to their churches/further their own agenda. “Be a mormon, and your life will be this happy and fun! We’re just like you, just look at all the amazing things we do with OUR lives” I live in the BUCKLE of the bible belt, and I thought I was used to church adverts. This makes me livid.
It saddens me when the Mormons have more than just the father/son team walking up and down the same streets every year knocking on doors and leaving little pamphlets about why the LDS church makes lives happier (They even sneakily leave out the word “Mormon” from these pamphlets because they know “Mormon” has a negative connotation to it- it’s strictly referred to as the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS).
Flat Lander
I’m a member of a Mormon Church, but not the big one in Salt Lake City, but I do think attempts to show how Normal and Mainstream Mormons are should have many voices. Here’s my attempt to show just how normal and mainstream Mormons are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VypFDSDU_kk