Even before the UCC officially launched its new viral marketing message, The Language of God, leaked links to the video had become so popular that YouTube froze the view count on the message, thinking significant traffic was computer generated and not legitimate viewing.

Just a few years ago, the United Church of Christ couldn’t buy time on national TV networks. All four, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC turned down UCC commercials promoting diversity because of the ‘controversial’ nature of the content. In the ads, video clips were shown of apparently real churches turning away minorities and gays. In spite of a first amendment battle, the networks prevailed.

Now, the UCC’s are going around the networks and directly to the people using ‘viral marketing’. This is a relatively new term applied to marketers who are interested in creating successful programs by identifying individuals with high Social Networking Potential and create messages that appeal to this segment of the population. They usually use video clips (as the UCC campaign) or such things as interactive games, eBooks, images, or text messages.

In an attempt to reach as many as 4 million people with their message of diversity, the million plus member denomination began late last week to post a video clip, in reality an advertisement for the denomination and asked tens of thousands of the own members to try to pass that message along their social networking sites. Facebook, My Space, Twitter, and even straight email began to drive people to You Tube, where the video had been placed.

However, because of leaks early in the week, the traffic to You Tube grew in numbers so fast that the service believed the upsurge of traffic was a result of a computer ‘bot’ that was electronically accessing the site rather than legitimate viewing.

The UCC’s Director of Communications had this to say about You Tube on the denomination’s official web site:

“This is disappointing as we’d hoped to use the view count as an indicator of how broadly the video had been distributed,” said the Rev. J. Bennett Guess, the UCC’s director of communications. “On the plus side, it’s exciting to know that we generated so much traffic that YouTube flagged our video.”

Faced with the locked-out video at You Tube, the UCC turned to an even newer video sharing service that does not have view count restrictions, Vimeo. The video itself is a series of flash, mostly still, pictures of diversity, include upbeat music and an audio clip of Martin Luther King, Jr’s famous speech, with absolutely no Biblical content whatsoever.

Although you have to watch carefully, interspersed in the stills are those of a lesbian marriage being performed and one of two men, apparently representing gay parents, with a young child. What was too ‘controversial’ just 6 years ago is now being shown as simply part of the normal diversity of this main line denomination.

“If only one person sees this message and understands that God is as relevant today as in any age, we’ve succeeded in our efforts,” said UCC executive Guess. “Of course, we know that it has already reached many more and believe it will challenge us to consider how the Christian message continues to be meaningful today.”

The advertising campaign was introduced in conjunction with the installation of the new United Church of Christ’s new General Minister and President (Presiding Officer) of the denomination, the Reverend Geoffrey Black. Services were held on Saturday at one of the larger UCC churches in Cleveland, Ohio – the headquarters city for the United Church of Christ.