SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon.org "I'm a Mormon" ad campaign hasn't gone viral by the strictest definition, but media outlets all over the country have caught the bug.
From commendation to curiosity to censure, everyone wants to weigh in on the LDS Church's ads, which are currently airing in nine U.S. markets.
Why all the attention? Put simply, the campaign has cast its real-life subjects as diverse, secure in their faith and … ordinary. Normal. Fun. Creative. Friendly. Happy.
This attempt to "rebrand" Mormons stemmed from research, said Scott Swofford, director of media for the LDS Church's missionary department.
"Half of people surveyed (still) said they didn't know anything about Mormons," Swofford said. "We wanted to show our values and religion through the lives of our members — and find a way to do it that was transparent and authentic."
Swofford said he participated in many intense brainstorming sessions, trying to figure out a way to select members, trying to decide what they were really looking for.
"We didn't want people that were famous or well-known, but we wanted them to be extraordinary in some way in life," he said.
They tossed around 60 names, which were narrowed down to 48, which were narrowed down to 30. The selected subjects are an eclectic mix of ethnicities, backgrounds, occupations, ages and talents. A mix of veteran commercial filmmakers and student filmmakers, headed by creative director Parry Merkley, joined the project. Swofford said their goal was to avoid a controlled, scripted feel.
"We went for YouTube quality," he said. "We had two-man crews going across the country gathering the pieces. No art director. No makeup person. We wanted it to be very raw and documentary-like."
While the campaign is certainly getting attention, it is new enough that most of the information they have so far is anecdotal rather than statistical.
"It has been demographic specific," Swofford said. "Young families respond to ads on young families; professionals respond to professionals; and teens respond to teens."
He said the subjects of the ads have reported dramatic increases in online traffic for their personal blogs and Facebook pages.
"There have been a few attacks or negative comments they've had," he said. "But mostly the ads are resonating with people in a positive way."
Swofford is pleased overall and said that — since it is still early in the campaign — they will be sensitive to all the responses they receive. He is excited for the next round of ads to be released.
"We're combating misperceptions of Mormons in the media," he said. "The reality is the church has 6 million people in the U.S., 14 million worldwide; the reality is diversity is an inherent (part of) being Mormon. But no matter how diverse they are, they all follow Jesus Christ — the unifying thread."
Mormon Times chatted with five of the "I'm a Mormon" faces to learn about how they became involved with the project, what kind of experiences they had, and how they are handling unexpected amounts of attention.
e-mail: eschmuhl@desnews.com
CASSANDRA BARNEY
Artist and mother in Orem. M11ROSE DATOC DALL
Artist and mother
in Virginia. M10RYAN WILCOX
Pediatrician, humanitarian missionary. M10JENNY HESS
California mom's heart is healing. M11ROCHELLE TALLMADGE
Texas mother of four, two with special needs. M10