Campaigns

For most people today the Bible is out of sight and out of mind. And when it is ever thought about it is as a book of rules that has nothing to do with real life.

Bible Society has taken up the challenge to try to change this perception of the Bible. This has been through city-wide campaigns and other initiatives designed to help the public make the connection between the Bible and everyday life.

These initiatives involve working with churches in cities around the country. And they use creative ways to engage people to take notice of the Bible once more.

Our campaigns in Greater Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham have all included a combination of advertising, PR initiatives and artistic events. They have all lasted about six weeks. And each, in its own way, has brought the Bible to people’s attention.

Nottingham
Nottingham was where our campaigning work began. In Autumn 2003, we organised an interactive media campaign based around the soap opera, Eastenders.

Our adverts used current storylines from the soap to draw out the parallels between the Bible and everyday life. People were even asked to vote by text message as part of the campaign.

A biblical events programme, called Kaleidoscope, ran in parallel to the advertising and PR.

Bristol
In Spring 2005, we moved our Eastenders campaign to Bristol. The campaign ran for six weeks. It also picked up on current storylines from the TV programme and involved local churches.

The events programme took a step forward, including a graffiti-Bible initiative (‘Let Us Spray’), a pop opera based on the story of Esther and even retellings of biblical parables through circus scenes.

Greater Manchester
In Spring 2007, with local churches, we ran a somewhat different campaign across Greater Manchester. The Riddle of Life was a scratch-card competition on billboards that featured headlines from Scripture.

It aimed to show that once you scratch the surface, the Bible is full of stories about everyday life. The campaign also included a number of creative events, such as a biblical fashion show (called ‘Home’) and a film competition with a full-on awards ceremony.