Recently while searching online for a new refrigerator, I came across a Web site for a local appliance store that featured the Ichthus, or Christian fish symbol, in its logo. The personal side of me that grew up watching Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker tearfully separating people from their money on Sunday television hesitated. The marketer side of me wondered if companies that invoke religious symbols are simply sharing their values — or trading on the intrinsic values of the brand that is the Bible? Lots of businesses align themselves with religion (without going through any kind of certification process from a higher authority).
Brad Harmon, founder and editor of Marketplace Christianity, poses the question in his blog post “Are You a Fish Slapper?” He asks if those who attach the Christian symbol to their ad materials are over-commercializing their faith or just sharing it. Forever 21, the American chain of stores selling trendy, value-priced clothes for young women has a Bible verse, John 3:16, on the bottom of its plastic shopping bags. West Coast-based In and Out Burger features the same verse on the bottom inside rim of its cups.
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