Who owns and funds “He Gets Us”? Jesus washed feet Super Bowl commercial leaves the internet baffled

Recently, an ad campaign called “He Gets Us” was launched as part of the Super Bowl 58, which has taken the internet by storm for its, “Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet” slogan.

In the now-viral commercial, several Christians are seen washing the feet of people who do not conform to Christian norms including an old addict, a Black man, a woman outside an abortion clinic, an immigrant, queer people, and a Muslim woman, among others.

“He Gets Us” is Super Bowl’s first ad this year with the theme of feet washing and was aired during the first quarter of the game, as per USA Today. In the wake of the viral one-minute commercial, netizens are now reacting in disbelief.

For those unaware, the “He Gets Us” campaign is owned by a nonprofit called Come Near and is funded by billionaire David Green.

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Everything you need to know about the “He Gets Us” campaign

According to USA Today, the “He Gets Us” campaign was launched in 2022 by the Kansas-based Servant Foundation. Alternatively called The Signatry, it is a donor-advised fund that describes itself as “a Christian ministry seeking to build the Kingdom of God by inspiring world-changing generosity.”

In 2023, the ownership of “He Gets Us” was transferred to the newly-formed nonprofit Come Near which describes itself as “sharing the life and love of Jesus in thought-provoking new ways.” The organization’s CEO is Ken Calwell, an executive at Wendy’s and Domino’s Pizza.

Last year, after the shift in ownership, craft chain billionaire and Hobby Lobby founder David Green began funding the Super Bowl ads, including “He Gets Us.” Forbes mentions that Green has a net worth of nearly $15 billion and his son is one of the board members of the campaign.

Interestingly, in 2014, Green and Hobby Lobby won a case in the Supreme Court, allowing them to continue denying “health insurance coverage for some or all forms of birth control based on religious objections,” which impacted over 60 million Americans, as per USA Today.

Meanwhile, the “He Gets Us” official website describes it as an ad campaign “not affiliated with any single individual, political position, church, or faith denomination.” It adds:

"Let us be clear in our opinion. Jesus loves gay people and Jesus loves trans people. The LGBTQ+ community, like all people, is invited to explore the story of Jesus."

One of the marketing agencies involved in the latest “He Gets Us” campaign BrandHaven’s President Jason Vanderground told USA Today that since 2024 is the year of the presidential election, there is “divisiveness and hostility” around.

With “He Gets Us,” they are “trying to be very intentional to build off of last year’s message and instead of showing people fighting, showing people demonstrating what it looks like to love your neighbor.”

In fact, “He Gets Us” is immediately followed by a second commercial “Know Your Neighbor” which is aired during the second quarter of any match.

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“Not how I expected today to go”: Netizens left baffled over latest “He Gets Us” feet-washing commercial

Recently, during the first quarter of the ongoing Super Bowl 58, a feet-washing commercial was aired as part of the “He Gets Us” campaign. However, the AI-generated ad is now garnering severe traction online for its controversial content.

It features Christians from different paths of life washing the feet of people who often do not adhere to Christian norms, such as addicts, illegal migrants, women getting abortions, gay and trans people, and more.

As per Indy 100, the moral of the ad was about Jesus and how “He gets us. All of us,” as mentioned at the end of the campaign, which also says “Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet,” which was a reference to the biblical story of how Christ washed the feet of his disciples the night before his crucifixion.

Here’s how the internet reacted to the commercial.

Apart from the commercial, the campaign also held a service day on February 10 at a Las Vegas community center before that day’s Super Bowl. It saw current and former NFL players distributing groceries and hot meals among underprivileged people as part of “Hey Neighbour” initiative.

Some of the athletes even helped children in football drills, games, and more, as per USA Today.

Notably, last year’s commercials preached “the love of Jesus” and were placed at the top of the ads chart of 2023.