Town misses out on church ad campaign

Posters will be displayed in bus stops across Greater Manchester, but not in the Rochdale Borough.

Bus-stops across Greater Manchester are to get a Christmas make-over, with the biggest ever Christmas ad-campaign coordinated by churches all over the country, estimated to reach 20 million people.

Posters have been placed in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rossendale, Salford, Tameside and Trafford; however, no posters have been designated for Heywood, Middleton or Rochdale.

The Rev. John Geary, of St Margaret’s Church, Heywood, said: “Heywood church people are disappointed that none of the six posters they sponsored are displayed in Heywood or Rochdale. They do hope that they have helped to spread the Christian message where they are sited. It is an excellent campaign which has united everybody across the country.”

Across the UK 600 posters have been purchased, tapping into the resources offered by ChurchAds.net, with churches of all denominations paying £105 to ‘buy a bus-stop’.

Posters will appear at 38 bus-stops in Greater Manchester spreading the message that ‘Christmas starts with Christ’.

On 22 December, churches have been invited to sing Christmas carols at their bus-stops between 6pm-8pm, and Heywood church-goers will be performing at residential homes in the area.

The ads will also appear across the North of England in the Christmas editions of the Big Issue, featuring a picture of a homeless Mary, Joseph and Jesus sheltering in a bus-stop.

David Marshall, director of communications for the Diocese of Manchester, the Church of England, said: “It tells the nativity story in a modern, secular context by showing the Holy family sheltering in a bus shelter, with people going about their everyday business around them. It will remind readers that the family could not find suitable shelter when the time came for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem.”

Recent research by Theos found that only 12% of adults know the Christmas story in any detail, dropping to 7% for those aged 18-24.

Churches up and down the country have clocked up over £100,000 of advertising space as commercials will also be aired across 30 radio stations.

Mike Elms, former CEO of advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, and trustee of ChurchAds.Net, said: "For years churches across the UK have produced posters to promote Christmas, but, until now, no one has attempted to run a fully national campaign, with a long-lasting slogan that runs and builds year on year.

“We’re learning that, by embracing modern communications tools, we have the capability to communicate the Gospel message powerfully to the entire country.”