Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology

YankeeFan · Feb 5, 2013

After several months of mounting accusations over the treatment of its members, the Church of Scientology on Sunday tried to spread a softer, gentler message using the biggest advertising event in the country: the Super Bowl.

For the first time, the church bought commercial time in local markets during the Super Bowl in order to feature an ad that called on “the curious, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge.” The ad, which ran in cities including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas, was in stark contrast to the more traditional Super Bowl fare from brands like Budweiser, Mercedes-Benz and Coca-Cola.

“Some will doubt you,” said the narrator in the ad over soft-focus images of mostly young, ethnically diverse strivers. “Let them. Dare to think for yourself, to look for yourself, to make up your own mind.”

Robert Passikoff, the president of Brand Keys in New York, a brand and customer-loyalty consulting company, said he was surprised to see the ad during the game. “Clearly the organization was looking for as broad an audience as it could,” he said.

Called “Knowledge,” the ad was produced by Golden Era Productions, the Church of Scientology International’s own studio, which creates training films and other video content for the church, Karin Pouw, a spokeswoman for the organization said in an e-mail.

The ad itself was not new; a longer version ran on the organization’s Web site in November. Ms. Pouw said the ad “would appear on prominent Web sites and air during prime time TV programs over the next several months,” and was shown 16 times an hour on a digital billboard in Times Square in December.

“We are thrilled with the response to this advertisement and that so many millions of people were able to see our message,” Ms. Pouw said.

The campaign came after several well-publicized attacks on the church’s credibility. In October, Vanity Fair published an article detailing the actress Katie Holmes’s life in Scientology during her marriage to the church’s most visible member, Tom Cruise. In January, Lawrence Wright published his investigative book, “Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief,” which takes direct aim at the church’s practices and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Ms. Pouw said the ads were not a direct response to Mr. Wright’s book.

“There has always been a demand for information about Scientology, and the ads are part of a longer term effort to meet that demand,” she said in the e-mail. “We have been running it online for some time and are expanding onto television.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/business/media/scientology-runs-super-bowl-ad.html?hp
Click to expand...

ifilus · Feb 6, 2013

And somehow the NYT neglected to note that Scientology blatantly plagiarized an Apple ad from 1997.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/scientology-super-bowl-ad-sounds-very-familiar

SFIND · Feb 6, 2013

Scientology's ad cracked me up. "Truth" is not a religion concocted by a science fiction writer.

TigerVols · Apr 16, 2015

So Lawrence Wright has teamed up with Alex Gibney to make "Going Clear" for HBO and...meh. It's sorta underwhelming, compared to the New Yorker article.

BDC99 · Apr 16, 2015

The Tampa Bay Times has its own cottage industry of digging up Scientology's secrets, since it has a large presence in Clearwater. Some interesting reading if you are so inclined. Shady, shady shit.

BDC99 · Apr 16, 2015

TigerVols said: ↑

So Lawrence Wright has teamed up with Alex Gibney to make "Going Clear" for HBO and...meh. It's sorta underwhelming, compared to the New Yorker article.
Click to expand...

Really would like to see it, but I don't pay for HBO. Maybe they'll have a free weekend on DirecTV soon.

reformedhack · Apr 17, 2015

BDC99 said: ↑

The Tampa Bay Times has its own cottage industry of digging up Scientology's secrets, since it has a large presence in Clearwater. Some interesting reading if you are so inclined. Shady, shady shit.
Click to expand...

I second that. The Times has done an excellent job of shining a light on this secretive, scary organization.

RecoveringJournalist · Apr 17, 2015

BDC99 said: ↑

Really would like to see it, but I don't pay for HBO. Maybe they'll have a free weekend on DirecTV soon.
Click to expand...

It was free last weekend. I got on through On Demand. Haven't had a chance to watch all of it yet.

Log in or Sign up

Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology

YankeeFan Well-Known Member

ifilus Well-Known Member

SFIND Well-Known Member

TigerVols Well-Known Member

BDC99 Well-Known Member

BDC99 Well-Known Member

reformedhack Well-Known Member

RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology

YankeeFan Well-Known Member

ifilus Well-Known Member

SFIND Well-Known Member

TigerVols Well-Known Member

BDC99 Well-Known Member

BDC99 Well-Known Member

reformedhack Well-Known Member

RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches