For the second year in a row, Scientology staked out local airtime during the Super Bowl for an ad that quickly became fodder for confused observers on Twitter. The ad’s tranquil sights and aggressive lens flare culminated in a promise of “higher states of existence,” and “creepy” was the general reception. As with last year, the ad appeared limited to some regional urban markets, including New York, and aired later in Washington, D.C. The spot itself has been on Scientology’s YouTube channel since at least Jan. 8.
In 2009, Seth Stevenson wrote in Slate on Scientology and the strange business of making commercials for a religion.
