The ad is a "call to action to support the meaning of Christmas and to go see the movie," Wyck Godfrey, producer of "The Nativity Story," told Cybercast News Service.
Jenn Giroux of the "Operation Just Say Merry Christmas" campaign, said the film was "a good way to encourage Christians to not only celebrate the message of Christmas but also send the message back to Hollywood by supporting this film - that this is really the type of film that we would like them to consistently come out with."
She told Cybercast News Service she would like Hollywood to "move in the direction of entertainment that is more wholesome and uplifting."
"There is an attack on Christmas that is going on in the country for the people who just want to shove the religious aside and make everything secular," Giroux said. "I think that standing up for Christmas just makes people realize the true meaning of this season, which is the holy birth of Jesus."
The ad cites several recent episodes in what some have called "the war on Christmas" - the recent removal of Christmas trees from an airport in Seattle, Wash., and the city of Chicago's move to ban "The Nativity Story" from a Christmas festival.
Chicago subsequently agreed the movie could be shown by a private group of citizens at the festival.
Christianity was often the "target of bigotry," Giroux said.
For David Silverman, national spokesperson for American Atheists, all the movie's makers are doing is trying to "use people's emotions to make money."
"Christmas has evolved and is becoming a holiday not about Jesus or the solstice, but rather about money," he told Cybercast News Service. "The producers of 'The Nativity' are falling right in with the trend. They are attracting viewers for a film based not on its plot's originality, but simply because it's about Jesus.
"It will work," Silverman said. "God followers are historically over-emotional and will do what they are told if they think their God wants them to do it, without questioning the merit of the actions. When viewers hear 'defend Christmas,' they think it's under attack, and the movie studio gives a simple way to help -- spend money on their movie."
Silverman said Christmas was merely "the Christianization of the winter solstice celebration, which was secular in the first place. Christmas' loss of religion is simply a return to its roots."
Giroux defended the ad campaign and the film's producers. "I don't think saying 'stand up for Christmas' is a shameless marketing ploy on their part."
She compared "The Nativity Story" to "Black Christmas," a horror movie opening on Dec. 25.
"Black Christmas is an extremely deliberate effort by the makers of that film, in my opinion, to desecrate one of the holiest days for Christians out of the year," she said. "The most disturbing aspect of this Black Christmas movie is that they are insensitive enough to bring it forth and open it on Christmas Day."
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