We have a real treat for our regular readers today, particularly those of you who enjoy our “Sunday Funnies.”
Over the years, we’ve become very familiar with Scientology’s marketing methods, so when something different comes along, it can really get our attention. One of the best examples is the energy and fun of Scotland Scientology’s newsletter — “Scots Wha Hae…!” — which has been put out by a man who lives near Edinburgh named John Gourlay.
He’s become something of a mascot in our Sunday Funnies pages of late, and so we were interested to hear that he was part of a slick marketing campaign that Scientology came up with last year, and then apparently abandoned.
Luckily, one of our best tipsters managed to locate a copy of the campaign’s centerpiece — a nicely-made video that features Gourlay and a few other people of note in UK Scientology. Give it a look!
Here’s what our tipster said about some of the people who appear in the video…
John Gourlay — Everyone seems to know he’s the ED of HAPI Org in Scotland. Prior to the GAT II onslaught, he had been stalled on the Bridge; one of the very few Scottish OTs told me he’d been stuck on NED for over 15 years. He used to be a fisherman before he picked up Dianetics.
Ros deLacy — She was very long-term Saint Hill staff (since the 1970s, I believe). She passed away last month.
Rebecca Grant — an actress.
Best we can tell, this video was made late last year, but wasn’t put online by the church itself. Perhaps it was used only in the orgs to get people amped up?
(Quick aside for the newer readers: For more than ten years, Scientology leader David Miscavige has put a major emphasis on raising money for new churches — called “Ideal Orgs” — to replace existing orgs in cities around the world. We’ve seen plenty of evidence that these expensive new cathedrals are doing nothing to stem the tide of Scientology’s rapid decline. The church members who remain are pressured constantly to give more and more money for buildings to be purchased and renovated. That push is on in earnest in Great Britain, where Scientology has only a small number of followers remaining — only about 2,400 in the last census of England and Wales, for example.)
A YouTube channel for “Ideal Orgs Made in Britain” does exist, but this video isn’t posted there. We found another video, obviously made by the same production company and also with a sort of Wes Anderson feel. This was the only other film at the channel (except for another version of it)…
Sure, it’s silly, and we’re not sure what it has to do with Ideal Orgs, but these videos are magnitudes more creative and well edited than the stuff David Miscavige usually produces at Golden Era Productions in the US. Who knows why the campaign was seemingly scrapped. If you have any ideas about it, we’d love to hear it.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 16, 2014 at 07:00
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BLOGGING DIANETICS (We read Scientology’s founding text) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
UP THE BRIDGE (Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN (Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING (Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
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