Means or End?

Check out these ads for the Copenhagen Zoo.

I love advertising like this—a refusal to march lock-step with the status quo.

If advertising is putting up a billboard, then hey—put up a billboard and call it a day. But if advertising is communicating a message in a way that gets noticed, then maybe (probably) a billboard isn’t the best thing.

Whoever created this campaign understands the difference between a means and an end. Advertising is a means—it’s supposed to accomplish something other than advertising.

…Just like a church’s Bible class program is supposed to accomplish something other than Bible class. Just like a sermon is supposed to accomplish something more than preaching. Just like getting everyone in the same room on Sunday is supposed to accomplish something other than getting everyone in the same room on Sunday.

The best programs/sermons/services are the ones that remember they’re a means. The worst ones are the ones that start to think they’re an end.