Jesus, All About Life

Jesus. All about life is a major advertising campaign run in Australia by the Bible Society of New South Wales.

Campaign Strategy

It aims to show 90% of Australians the campaign's advertisements at least 10 times, to help raise the profile of the gospel and that Jesus came to "give life in all its fullness".

Campaigns

The campaign has been run in:
*Adelaide, South Australia, during August and September 2005, reaching a regional population of around 1.5 million people, spending some $250,000 (Australian dollar);
*Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, in March and April 2006, incorporating newspaper, flags on major boulevades, and side-of-a-bus advertising, reaching a regional population of around 500,000 people, spending some $150,000;
*Tasmania, in September and October 2007.

Further campaigns are being planned for Sydney (August and September 2009), Brisbane, Queensland, the 'Top End', Perth and Melbourne.

Churches in Western Australia have confirmed that they will run a campaign in the second half of 2008. The local committee is supported by Bible Society.

Advertisements and catch-phrases

The TV and broadcast radio advertisements use people whose message includes statements such as, "... I'm not into religion, but I reckon a lot of what Jesus taught was pretty amazing" (youth ad.) and "... it's less about material things... and more about spiritual ones" (older age ad.) and "... now I know why my parents sent me to Sunday school" (young adults' ad.)

Campaign materials

The campaign material proposes that people consider that life is about:
* being secure - not physical security - knowing that God loves you;
* having a point - not getting out of bed, going to work, and going to bed at night - instead, following Jesus' example, and helping others;
* joyful living - joy through having a meaning and purpose;

People responding to the campaign are sent by mail a booklet containing:
* a simple guide to what Jesus said, and why, and what Christians and others can derive from this;
* testimonials from various prominent Australians, such as:
** Michael Jeffery (Governor General of Australia)
** Ken Duncan (nature photographer)
** Brooke Fraser (singer)
** Colin Buchanan (singer, entertainer, children's TV show host)
** Adrian Ross (Australian Aborigine, digeridoo player, entertainer)
** John Anderson (politician - former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, farmer)
* a Gospel of Luke

People can ask to be directed to their nearest participating church.

Call centre

A call centre is established in each campaign area, that answers respond to the call to action in the advertisements.

Responders are invited to :
* use the internet site [http://www.allaboutlife.com.au www.allaboutlife.com.au] or
* call (Australian number) 1300 512 312, or
* SMS 0411 512 312.

Church Response

Churches opt in to participating in the campaign. In Canberra, 162 churches joined the campaign, making it truly ecumenical.

Churches are holding key events that responders can attend.

A follow-up video and discussion group program is available for churches to run over 5 sessions, that features presentations by JAAL Project Director, Pastor Karl Faase. (The program has similarities to the Alpha course.)

Organisation

Bible Society NSW created the campaign to help local churches work together to reach their community. It organises the campaigns through a local organising committee. A person may be employed to manage day-to-day matters. Sub-committees cover matters such as: contact with participating churches, media strategy, and fund-raising.Key personnel are [ Martin Johnson [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Johnson_%28disambiguation%29] and Karl Faase.

External links

* [http://www.allaboutlife.com.au/ Jesus, All About Life]
* [http://www.jesusallaboutlife.com.au/ Churches' site - Jesus, All About Life]