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Gay News: The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ice cream ad which shows two Catholic priests about to kiss.
By: Nigel Robinson
Six people objected to the ad
Six people objected to the ad
Gay priests ice cream ad is banned
27 October 2010
In the ad for Antonio Federici ice cream, two priests in full robes are seen sharing a tub of ice cream, “in a seductive pose as if they were about to kiss passionately” , the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said..
Accompanying the text was the caption “We believe in salvation”.
The ad appeared in Look magazine, and comes only a month after the company was ordered to withdraw another campaign featuring a pregnant nun.
Six people complained about the ad and said that it was offensive and mocked Catholicism.
In its defence, the company denied that its advertising was mocking Catholicism but was reflecting the grave trouble they believed affected the Catholic Church.
They said that the issue of gay bishops was one that currently divided the Church of England and was likely to continue to do so.
Antonio Federici said that their ad contrasted the attitudes of the Catholic Church with their company's belief that, if ice cream were a religion, it would be one of universal love, regardless of race, colour, creed or gender.
They believed that the ad was not likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
In their ruling, the ASA considered that the ad had breached the Authority’s codes of decency and instructed that it should not appear again in its current form.
The code states that ads should contain nothing that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence and that particular care should be taken to avoid causing offence on grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability.
“We considered the portrayal of the two priests in a sexualised manner was likely to be interpreted as mocking the beliefs of Roman Catholics and was therefore likely to cause serious offence to some readers, “ the ASA said.
Antonio Federici said that they are Catholics but would continue to produce advertising that challenged the Catholic Church while they believed it remained in trouble.
