Gambling ad in UK banned for mocking Christianity

Chiqui Guyjoco Thursday, May 19, 2016

A general view is seen of Pope Francis leading the Easter mass in St. Peter's square at the Vatican March 27, 2016. | REUTERS/ALESSANDRO BIANCHI

A gambling ad created by Boylesports Enterprise has been banned by British advertising authorities for mocking Jesus Christ's crucifixion.

"We considered the offense was likely to be particularly strongly felt by those of the Christian faith at Easter, when the imagery would have a particularly strong resonance," read a statement by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK's independent regulator for advertising across all media, on its official website. "We considered that the ad was likely to cause serious offense and concluded that it was therefore in breach of the code."

The advertising organization ruled on Wednesday, May 18 that the ad breached the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code (Edition 12) rule 4.1 (Harm and offense), specifying that marketers should avoid offensive content based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age.

The organization explained that the ad's play on words in combination with the chosen images that Christians consider as sacred and the timing of its release all contributed to strong insinuations that the ad was referencing to Jesus Christ's crucifixion and not just on a generic context.

The controversial ad was released on a four-day promotional run from March 24 to 27. It depicted an image of crucifixion on a desert background and a text below the image that said, "In memory of the dearly departed JC, we are offering you a sacrilecious [sic] bonus this Easter weekend. ... So don't just sit there gorging your own body weight in chocolate, that's disrespectful. Get on Boylesports Gaming and get your nailed on bonus."

According to the report, Boylesports Enterprise argued that although they used an image of crucifixion, they believe that there was no religious symbolism since the execution was commonplace during Christ's time. The company also believe that even in the current time, the language and imagery of crucifixion are already embedded in modern-day culture. They even went on to cite examples from film, music, and everyday language.

Ultimately, the company assured that they will no longer run the ad nor create offensive ads in the future.