Scheels wants us to know it's a Christian company
I don't remember ever seeing a company do this. First it was the half page ad on Christmas Eve saying "He is born" above a nativity scene. Today they have a full page ad saying "Hallelujah, he is risen" and "Happy Easter from Scheels." A picture of a tomb(?) and a quote from John 3:16 are the only other things on the page.
I'm trying to think of anyone else I've seen advertise like that, and I'm not coming up with anyone unless you count churches. St. Mary's is a Catholic hospital, for crying out loud, and it doesn't run ads like this.
So what is Scheels' point? They're proud of being Christian, obviously. Is that all? Why would a business be so proud of being Christian it would buy expensive ads to tell people about it? Is this their idea of a public service announcement? Do they think Reno is a hard core Christian community that will be more likely to support a Christian business? Is this their way of warning potential employees they expect them to be Christians or at least pretend to be?
Speaking of employees, they also have a display ad in the classifieds today. It doesn't have a hint of anything religious. Maybe they would risk discrimination lawsuits if they included religion in their employment advertising.
Out of curiosity, I made a quick visit to the Scheels Web site. Nothing about religion there that I could find. So what's with the religious newspaper ads? Are they a subtle but separate message to potential job applicants? It's interesting that both ads appeared the same day. I have no way of going back to see whether they also advertised job openings on Christmas Eve.
I'm trying to think of anyone else I've seen advertise like that, and I'm not coming up with anyone unless you count churches. St. Mary's is a Catholic hospital, for crying out loud, and it doesn't run ads like this.
So what is Scheels' point? They're proud of being Christian, obviously. Is that all? Why would a business be so proud of being Christian it would buy expensive ads to tell people about it? Is this their idea of a public service announcement? Do they think Reno is a hard core Christian community that will be more likely to support a Christian business? Is this their way of warning potential employees they expect them to be Christians or at least pretend to be?
Speaking of employees, they also have a display ad in the classifieds today. It doesn't have a hint of anything religious. Maybe they would risk discrimination lawsuits if they included religion in their employment advertising.
Out of curiosity, I made a quick visit to the Scheels Web site. Nothing about religion there that I could find. So what's with the religious newspaper ads? Are they a subtle but separate message to potential job applicants? It's interesting that both ads appeared the same day. I have no way of going back to see whether they also advertised job openings on Christmas Eve.
I think it's pretty ballsy, and maybe a little in-your-face for those that are not Christians, such as atheists, Buddhists, American Natives, Agnostics, Pagans, Hindu, and more. Not even Mormons, who own dozens of very very large companies, get that in your face about it. I found it a bit offensive, well maybe not offensive but out of place...just as a full page Buddha ad would have. Then again, this is America, free speech is free speech, and I wouldn't want that impended in any way, so I would rather live with a few oddberry overzealous slightly hypocritical religious corporate tycoons taking out full page ads, than to start regulating what is appropriate use for ad space that a corproation pays for.
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I agree with you. I just don't understand why a business does it. Surely the owners realize it might offend people, but they choose to do it anyway. I definitely wouldn't want to regulate anything like that. Maybe the market will punish them and maybe it won't. It seems to be a successful company!
The religious ads wouldn't keep me from shopping there, but they might keep me from applying for work there.
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My wife just started with Scheels as an assistant store manager, she has said nothing about the company being religious, and this is without us noticing the "religious" ads. Neither her nor I are religious people and I am sure she would have picked up some sort of sense of bible thumping (I'm sure there's a lightning bolt aimed at me about now!). Scheels is going to be a GREAT store, and a great addition to this community, as they are already becoming involved in local events. Not to mention will bring needed jobs to the area, and already have with the amount of workers building the HUGE place. Anyway, religious or not, I can't wait for the place to open, and my wife is very excited to be working for a family owned company!
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I appreciate your comment because I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from applying for work there just because of my doubts. I am happy for your wife. To be fair to Scheels and in the interest of full disclosure, my husband has had some work there during construction of the building. Hope your wife gets an employee discount!
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Good grief!
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