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CULTURE IMAGE
BY WALT MUELLER Marketers know our kids. They know our kids because they target them with ads selling all kinds of goods and services. Because our kids are the demographic group withthe greatest amount of disposable income, the advertising barrage they face is infinite and endless. Surprisingly, the greatest power all this marketing has is not the power to get our kids to buystuff, but the power to get our kids to buy into values, attitudes, and behaviors. Processing ads not only teaches them how to be gate-keepers, but when we respond to the ads with the perspective ofBiblical truth we are discipling them into a deeper understanding of God’s word, God’s will, and God’s way. In September of 2010, the pop-star and “brand” known as Britney Spears released her ninthfragrance in her line for Elizabeth Arden. The fragrance, known as “Radiance”, is being touted in a massive print, online, and visual media campaign in an effort to cultivate a customer base among women andgirls of all ages. The campaign enlists the tag line, “choose your own destiny.” The video ad features Spears visiting a fortune teller who offers to gaze into her crystal ball in order to help Spearssee her future. Spears declines the offer and gets up to leave saying, “No thanks, I choose my own destiny.” As the commercial ends, Spears looks into the camera and her viewers’ eyes, seductivelyimploring them to “Choose your own destiny.” The print image features a curvey Spears, a bottle of Radiance, the brand’s name, and the “choose your own destiny” tagline.
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After showing this print ad and other ads (both print and video) to students, solicit their “readings” on what the ads “say” about life and how we are to live it.Then, use the ads as a springboard to discussion of the following topics: The Sovereignty of God: Are people able to choose and control their own destiny? If so, to what extent? What role does God...