You'll all be aware of the atheist bus adverts by now, and the retaliatory adverts by various churches. Now I think it's time to see how well the Advertising Standards Agency think they have done their job.
The Atheist bus campaign read "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.". All seems pretty fair, the "probably" introduces the hint of doubt which any human who doesn't have definitive proof of God's existence must realistically (and legally, for an advert) include.
I sent an email to the ASA complaining about The Christian Party's advertising slogan proclaiming "There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life." and the Russian Orthodox Church advert which states "There IS a God, BELIEVE. Don't worry and enjoy your life". In addition, as you'll see, I have been informed that The Trinitarian Bible Society have published an advert stating "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Psalm 53.1".
The last advert is fine, in my eyes, as it is a Biblical quote and makes no definitive claims. The first 2, I'm not so sure about. A word like "definitely" should be backed up by at least the most basic fact, much like the statement "There IS a God". But neither are. Now here's the really daft part. I got 2 letters from the ASA, despite sending only one email. One letter goes as follows.
Quote:
Your Complaint about The Christian Party
It turns out that The Christian Party is a political party so I'm sorry to tell you that we're unable to deal with the specific issue you raise: we're unable to investigate complaints about advertising which aims to influence voters in elections or referendums. To do so would be to interfere with the democratic process. (The relevant clauses in our Code are 12.1 and 12.2 and you can find the code at www.cap.org.uk).
The ASA Council has seen the ad and confirmed that because its primary purpose is to promote The Christian Party, it is electioneering material and therefore exempt from our Code.
You may be aware that there were similar bus ads appearing from the Trinitarian Bible Society (which stated "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Psalm 53.1") and the Russian Orthodox Church (which stated "There IS a God, BELIEVE. Don't worry and enjoy your life"). The ASA Council assessed these ads but concluded that both were likely to be seen as simply reflecting the opinions of the advertisers and were unlikely to mislead readers.
Although we will not be pursuing your complaint, thank you for taking the time to contact us.
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OK, so my complaint against a political party was unsuccessful because I comlained about a political party, aparrently trying to sway votes in an "election or referendum" that I'm not aware of. But what about the "There IS a God" advert being run by a group who aren't a political party? Well...
Quote:
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The ad made the identity of the advertisers clear. It was produced in reaction to the recent British Humanist Association ad and closely reflected the style and wording of that campaign. The emphasis on "IS" and "BELIEVE" made clear the advertiser disputed the BHA claim "there probably is no god" and that it was a matter of faith rather than evidence. The ad reflected the opinion of the advertiser and was unlikely to mislead readers.
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So, by that reasoning, could I bring out an advert saying "My wee + Lemonade, tastes better than Carlsberg" and get away with it on the grounds that I'm disputing their claim to be "probably the best lager in the world" and that the advert reflects the opinion of the advertiser? Probably not, though I'd launch that campaign right now if I had the money.
Therefore, and sorry this was a long read, I'd like you all to do 2 things.
1. repost all of this on any forum you're a member of, or Facebook, or Twitter etc...
2. Send the following email to the people who sent me those 2 letters.
Quote:
Dear Sir/Madam
I'd like to thank you, and your organisation, for clearing up the issue of The Christian Party and Russian Orthodox Church adverts.
Now that I know their claims are not in breach of advertising standards and unlikely to mislead readers I can safely BELIEVE and assume that there IS a God - despite no proof being placed before me. I have therefore arranged my immediate transport to heaven, via a murderer. Please don't worry about his transport to heaven as he is a Catholic and shall confess his sin 10 minutes later, be absolved and then be murdered by a Catholic friend of his who shall confess his sin 10 minutes later, be absolved and then be murdered by a Catholic friend of his who shall confess his sin etc. YOU have shown me the way.
When I get to heaven I shall put a good word in for you, your organisation and all the good work you do.
Yours Sincerely,
etc..
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It won't be likely to change anything, but it would be funny if they got a lot of these messages.
The email addresses to send your "suicide note" to are
jamesd@asa.org.uk and
jodiep@asa.org.uk
