The Christian Imitation

(Filed under: Graphic Design)
Have you ever seen a "got pepsi?" T-shirt?
No.
Do you know why? Because Pepsi—and any other company and organization worth their salt—is smart enough to come up with something original. They don't "borrow" ideas from other campaigns and insert their own name. They don't make look-alike logos.
Once in a great while they may spoof another company's commercial or tag line, but usually only the very clever can pull it off.
So why does the church constantly imitate what's already been done?
You've seen the Christianized versions of every corporate logo, changing Subway to God's Way. As lame as it is, it's one thing on a hokey Christian T-shirt. It's an entirely different thing as a church's official marketing.
I've seen so many churches borrowing from the mainstream world, tweaking logos or commercials to promote their own sermon series. How lame is that? Is parody the highest form of flattery? Are people somehow more interested because it not so subtlety reminds them of the Gap? Or is the idea to make them think it is Coca-Cola so they pay closer attention until the deceit dawns on them and they chuckle to themselves about such creative imitation? Or are people so distracted that the only chance to get their attention is to play off the success of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition?
Would the church of God please rise up and be original? We've been blessed with creativity, so let's use it to come up with something that can stand on its own, rather than make sorrowful copies of corporate imagery.
Kevin D. Hendricks @ churchmarketingsucks.com