Davey's TV ad irks some Lutherans

Christian Century, August 28, 2002 by Kevin Eckstrom

It's a moral dilemma that little Davey Hansen himself might have wrestled with: Can the poster boy for wholesome values sell his image to the advertising gods of Madison Avenue and keep his soul intact?

Last year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decided to resurrect the animated Davey and Goliath characters after 25 years in pop culture limbo. The basic plan was to raise $4 million to create new episodes of the feel-good children's series that ran from 1960 to 1975.

Under an agreement signed earlier this year, Mountain Dew bought the rights to the characters for a 30-second TV ad. At the time, church leaders heralded the agreement as "phase one" in Davey's big comeback. But now some church members are upset that the boy and his talking dog are being used to sell cans of soda pop, not the gospel.

"I think when you have a mission and message as critical as the witness to Christ, and you have a vehicle like Davey and Goliath, call me [old-fashioned] but I don't think you compromise it," said Dave Wasemann, a pastor in Manassas, Virginia. What perturbs Wasemann is the ad's storyline, in which Davey and a friend wrestle over a can of Mountain Dew. When confronted by his father, Davey apologizes and his father guzzles the soda himself. His friend asks what happened, and Davey says, "We got hosed."

In June, Wasemann's regional Metro Washington Synod passed a resolution saying the Mountain Dew ad "conflicts with the purpose of uplifting moral lessons ... designed to affirm a child's faith in God in an entertaining way." The resolution asked the ELCA's Church Council to investigate. Soon after, the North-eastern Iowa Synod passed a similar resolution, which said the ad "portrays parenting, language and actions that are inconsistent and in conflict with the values of the ELCA." The resolution argued that no more deals should be signed unless the Church Council and church bishops are consulted.

Another minister, Gary Hatcher of Greene, Iowa, said the "hosed" language is inappropriate. "There are people in the church who said it didn't bother them, that that's the world we live in and people talk and act that way. Our response was yes, that's true, but it doesn't mean we as Christians should act and talk that way. We live by a different standard now."

Sixty-five episodes and six specials of Davey and Goliath were produced in the 1960s and '70s. Davey and his dog, Goliath, were created by Art and Ruth Clokey--who also created the Gumby characters--using "stop motion" animation, similar to claymation. Each episode featured easy-to-digest lessons on ethics and morality. There are no additional Mountain Dew ads in the works, and the controversy is not expected to derail attempts to bring Davey and Goliath back to life.

Still, some church executives are approaching the effort more carefully now. Eric Shafer, the church's director of communications and an avid Davey fan, is the man behind the Davey campaign. He said he takes the concerns seriously, especially when they involve charges of commercialism. "I grew up on Davey ... and I believe in the importance and power of Davey and Goliath as a symbol of the gospel," Shafer said. "I would never do anything to besmirch the Davey reputation."

Shafer said the Mountain Dew ad was only intended to provide seed money for other ventures. Two new church-sponsored ads feature Davey searching for Lutheran churches on the Internet. Next comes a series of plush dolls, action figures and book deals.

Critic-pastor Hatcher said he can follow the ends-justify-the-means logic, but still doesn't agree. "I understand that thinking, but our argument is that how you get to a place is as important as the place you arrive at." Church members who support the plan say the church had to take some risks in order to introduce the characters to a new generation. "If you have people afraid of trying anything for fear that someone might be offended, then you end up totally paralyzed," said Bishop Roy Almquist of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod.

The two resolutions will be considered at the coming Church Council meeting in November. Meanwhile, Shafer said "he's sensitive" to the concern. "The good news is that people care about Davey and Goliath, and we're pleased about that," he said. "We're going to do very well by Davey."