patrick.net

During one of the early commercial breaks during the 2024 Super Bowl, Come Near aired its ad featuring scenes of people of all sorts washing someone’s feet in emulation of Jesus. But many felt the ad completely missed the Biblical point.

The ad was to highlight HeGetsUs.com, a campaign meant to “remind everyone, including ourselves, that Jesus’ teachings are a warm embrace, not a cold shoulder,” the group’s website reads.

The ad shows a total of twelve scenes of one individual washing another’s feet. Most appear to be white people doing the washing. None feature a minority washing a white man’s feet, and some even seem to be telling white Christians not to be bigoted. That last one, in particular, features a white priest washing the feet of what appears to be a member of the LGBTQ community. Another shows an older white woman washing the feet of a scowling young woman outside a Family Planning Clinic as pro-life protesters stand in the background.