 The photo CNN cropped before using it for their article |
Britain’s advertising watchdog has censured an Italian ice cream manufacturer over an advertisement depicting a heavily pregnant nun that appeared ahead of a papal visit to the UK.
The ad featuring the strapline “immaculately conceived” over an image of the expectant sister spooning from a tub of Antonio Federici ice cream was “likely to cause widespread offense,” the Advertising Standards Authority ruled…
The watchdog rejected the manufacturer’s claims that it was “using gentle humor” to convey the message that “ice cream is our religion…”
“We concluded that to use such an image in a light hearted way to advertise ice cream was likely to cause serious offence to readers, particularly those who practised the Roman Catholic faith.”
The Antonio Federici ad is the company’s second invoking religious imagery to fall foul of the ASA. An advertisement featuring a nun and a priest eyeing each other for a kiss was banned in July last year…
It said it had also been banned from showing another advertisement showing two men dressed as priests apparently on the brink of sharing a kiss. The ASA has not published any ruling on the ad.
A statement from Antonio Federici said the company was seeking to relaliate by securing a series of billboard advertisements along the route the pope’s motorcade is expected to take during his visit to London.
Har!
I get it. It is a pretty neat ad and conveys the point.
I am kind of surprised they pulled it because the Christians didn’t threaten to riot, Jeff Field of the Catholic League didn’t issue a call to behead the makers of the ad, and Pat Robinson didn’t issue a fatwa. Oh wait! Christians don’t do that. Only Islamic fanatics do.
Some people take things a bit too seriously.
This is pathetic. I think they need to find another ad agency. This is the third time they’ve tried to get away with mocking Catholicism to sell ice cream and the ASA has censored them each time. I know that’s probably the point. They are trying to get attention just by being scandalous, but I think the ads are still in poor taste. I don’t think advertising like this works in the long term either. Somewhere along the line they are going to have to come up with something clever and original.
Milos, it’s called the “Streisand Effect”.
It’s a cheap and effective way to advertise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
Seriously, I don’t see any “mocking” of Catholicism. I see rather plenty of play on words, sometimes play on ideas. Come on, “We believe in salivation,” that’s a great slogan for ice cream.
I think it works even better in Italy. Very religious and oversexed people at the same time, and very tolerant too.
Anyone who sees any “shock” in it has their mind in the gutter, and that is exactly where the minds of religious people spend an awful lot of time. Hey, maybe that’s exactly why they feel the need to be religious. They are very naughty boys and girls who need a lot of discipline. They need some spanking. They feel… dirty.
Yes, Luc, you got it. It’s just good for a laugh. Most Catholics I know would get a good chuckle out of it and move on.
You don’t have to work hard to mock religions. Just read any religion’s “sacred” texts. I don’t know how any rational person could take them seriously.
It should have been a depiction of Mary – she was supposed to have been the subject of an immaculate conception.
This ad should be banned because it clearly affects the safety of the troops and the national security of the country.
Well, if your product taste like crap and looks like crap, misdirect the eye so people can’t tell its crap, until they open the container which they actually paid for so you git their $5.00 anyway, right?
Sex sells so “forbidden” sex should sell even more, if anybody gave a hoot about that anymore.
This ad should be banned as should that agency and everybody who is in any way responsible for producing this trite and tasteless piece of trash.
Unfortunately, the marketplace is now the arbiter of that. As long as we comment on it, the ad must be effective, right? (THERE’s the flaw in that kind of thinking.)
From a UK prospective, I think everybody is laughing about it.
Bizarrely, their other ads featuring gay priests, half naked nuns and the like; apparently OK. Good to go.
All this crap just in case the Pope might get upset. Really, I ask you.
Yea, they appear to have no concept of the meaning of immaculate conception. Perhaps they should have gone to a church and gotten some religious training before they made their ads.
Of course the irony is that the “Immaculate Conception” has nothing to do with how Jesus was conceived. Very common misconception. It’s about Mary being in a state of grace so when Jesus was born he was without original sin. Or something like that. Sorry Sisters – I don’t remember.
I’m Catholic, it doesn’t bother me. However if the ad depicted mohammed I’d have to kill you and all involved in it’s making
Nilf!
Those crazy Muslims are always making a huge stink whenever anybody makes fun of… errr, wait a minute.
Mojo Yugen said,
“Nilf!”
You sir, are going straight to heck for that remark.
But it was very funny and original:)
It would be “nice” in a way to have certain things held sacred==not by force but by unanimous opinion? Nuns could be such a topic, giving up their secular lives to marry Jebus and work every day to prevent birth control and family planning to lift people out of poverty=the Lord’s work. But this ad is rather cheeky, so Nuns as worthy as they are is not such a subject.
Then I think, well maybe its “Freedom of Speech” that all sacred seeking people really do freely honor? But then this ad is “banned” and not allowed in the marketplace of ideas.
What is sacred these days we can all get behind? “Lower Taxes” is about as universal as I can think of, has a nice ring to it, and is about as valid as any other religious dogma.
Heh, heh. Silly Hoomans.
Britain : redefining hate speech on a daily basis!
They have already received all the advertisement they wanted. No charge
@ Steve S
When I get to H-E-double-hockey-sticks I want the express lane. Eternal damnation, no waiting.