Advertising Agency Common Good 'rebrand' one of the World's oldest religions to encourage young, lapsed Jews to rethink what it means to live a Jewish life.
Given free rein to design a campaign to encourage young, lapsed Jews to rethink what it means to live a Jewish life, advertising agency Common Good chose to imagine the community of untethered Jews as a decentralized, punk-rock “bad Jew mafia.”
The campaign’s focus is to help “untethered” Jews celebrate their rebellion against the expectations and traditions of their community.
Created for Jews by Jews the campaign includes a website, offering branded apparel, accessories and skateboards.
Channelling the skate punk rock vibe, streetwear and posters proclaim sentiments such as “Unorthodox AF,” “I’ll Fast When I’m Dead,” “Kvetch City, Bitch,” and “I Killed Kosher.” Not to mention all manner of Jewish iconographies like the Star of David, a dreidel and a menorah.
“Many young Jews feel disconnected from Judaism, and as a result, we are choosing not to engage,” said Jake Barnes, director of business strategy at Common Good.
“The ‘untethered,’ who make up more than 70% of American Jews, share deeply ingrained values that subconsciously influence how they show up in the world. What may seem like a quirky or specific trait could actually be an invisible thread connecting the untethered to the millions of others like them.”
A key challenge was to engage untethered Jews in a way that would resonate with how they experience their Jewish identity, not in an appeal to lure them back to synagogue.
“Being Bad Looks Good On You”, says the Bad Jew Mafia website. “All our lives, we’ve tried to be ‘good Jews.’ We stuck to the playbook and did all the things. But we’re done with the guilt, and we’re over expectations. We love our heritage. Our DNA’s dope. But the rules & the limits & the burdens & the guilt (did we mention the guilt?) can pound sand. We’re not a movement. Just a faction—a couple million & counting. We’re gonna Jew our own bad way and call it good. Others in the tribe can be let down. So let them.”
All profits from the sale of merchandise go to United 24—a global initiative to support Ukraine.
Bad Jew Mafia Website
Need more Punk In Your Life?
Slam Dunk Festival reveals first wave of bands for 2027!
Slam Dunk, the UK’s biggest independent rock festival, is back for 2027 and today unveils its first wave of artists. Hot on the heels of
Album review: Bombstrap – ‘Big Enemy’
Hard times create hard music, and with the state of the world as it is right now, there is plenty of fertile breeding ground for
Album Review: Veteran Punk supergroup Pressure Set unleash their debut LP
Pressure Set – a Transatlantic collab of unexpected origin lets loose on their self-titled debut. In 2024, Colorado-based SPELLS drummer Rob Burleson met guitarist Dom
Album review: Bar Stool Preachers invite you to ‘Party Eternal’ on their 4th LP!
Bar Stool Preachers’ fourth album ‘Party Eternal’ sees the band head into bolder, more dynamically varied musical territory than ever before. At times scathing and
EP review: Cindy Lawson roars ‘¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!’
Cindy Lawson is back with a vengeance on her recent third record, ‘¡LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!’ A four-song response to the violent siege of Minnesota
EP review: Inherited – ‘All 4 One’
We swear, there must be something in the water in the Benelux region, because it’s been a byword for high-quality heavy hardcore for some time
Punktuation Magazine For All Your Daily Punk News, Features, Interviews, Lifestyle and more!
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
