Tuesday, December 18, 2007 | Reason : In the News | print version

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Jesus ad angers church groups

Daily Telegraph

Thanks to Michael Murray for the link.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22948534-5006301,00.html

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CHRISTIAN leaders have branded a television commercial depicting the baby Jesus tossing gifts back at the three wise men as tacky and offensive.

The ad for electronic goods retailers Betta Electrical recreates the Christian nativity scene, showing three wise men offering gifts to baby Jesus as he lies in the manger.

The commercial, which has angered Anglican and Catholic leaders, shows Jesus throwing gifts out of the manger as the words "Give a better gift" flash on the TV screen.

Christian leaders criticised the ad, calling it a tacky and offensive exploitation of religious imagery which perverts the true meaning of Christmas.

This ad comes "within the orbit of tacky Christmas things", senior Sydney Anglican bishop Glenn Davies told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

"The gifts that the wise men were giving were appropriate for a king, so the notion that Jesus would reject them is absurd," Dr Davies said.

"Obviously this company wants to get the divine seal of approval on their goods but I can't imagine it will help them sell anything."

A spokesman for Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell said the use of Christ was inappropriate.

"The advertisement is interesting because it shows how commercialised Christmas has become," he said.

But Julieanne Worchurst, marketing manager at BSR Group which operates more than 170 Betta Electrical stores, said the ad was "intended to be a tongue-in-cheek and humorous approach to the gift giving season".

"We accept that this could have been seen as offensive, but that was not the intention at all. The ad was never intended to upset or disrupt people's Christmas," she said.

Ms Worchurst said while the company had received just two complaints from viewers, the ad would be pulled if community outrage to the campaign grew.

VOTE NOW: Do you find the ad offensive? Let us know in the box on the right

Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 | Permalink

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1. Comment #100540 by Zakie Chan on December 18, 2007 at 9:18 pm

LOL!!! I thought that was hilarious. The Catholics are pissed? No surprise there.

""The gifts that the wise men were giving were appropriate for a king, so the notion that Jesus would reject them is absurd," Dr Davies said."

DUH!! Thats why its so funny. Honestly people. Honestly.

Other Comments by Zakie Chan

2. Comment #100542 by mmurray on December 18, 2007 at 9:26 pm

If you follow the link at the top you can get back to the Adelaide Advertiser and make a comment and or vote.

Michael

Other Comments by mmurray

3. Comment #100543 by mandrellian on December 18, 2007 at 9:29 pm

Sweet Newton's Birthday!

Why is it exactly that people think the religious are a pack of humourless, reactionary dinosaurs? Oh, right ...

So why isn't it also a blasphemy to have Jesus' birthday moved to that of Mithra's and then adopt dozens of other pagan traditions, like a tree, gifts and reindeer?

Other Comments by mandrellian

4. Comment #100548 by mmurray on December 18, 2007 at 9:33 pm

The gifts that the wise men were giving were appropriate for a king, so the notion that Jesus would reject them is absurd," Dr Davies said.

Yes. Beginning a discussion about what is absurd in the context of the nativity seems a little dangerous for a believer.

Of course they are leaping to the conclusion that they should be offended. Perhaps it is the phythonists who are being parodied.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj9MGrglUm8

Michael

Other Comments by mmurray

5. Comment #100550 by gd_edi on December 18, 2007 at 9:39 pm

Thats hilarious. People get offended way too easily.

Other Comments by gd_edi

6. Comment #100554 by Styrer- on December 18, 2007 at 10:13 pm

This advert is absolutely outrageous and sends out a terrible message.

The corners on those boxes were way too sharp and dangerous to put in any baby's cot.

A clear case of parental neglect and child abuse.

Styrer

Other Comments by Styrer-

7. Comment #100565 by 82abhilash on December 18, 2007 at 11:19 pm

The corners on thoses boxes were way too sharp and dangerous to put in any baby's cot.

Agreed. Diapers, baby powder and a pacifier would have been more appropriate, not to mention useful.

Other Comments by 82abhilash

8. Comment #100566 by agg on December 18, 2007 at 11:21 pm

Hmm, interesting. Following the creed that no publicity is bad publicity, is it possible that marketing gurus are taking note from the recent trend of best-selling atheist books? If the "four horsemen" can attract so many fleas (actually 2 and 1/3 to be precise), how much impact can similarly-themed commercials have?

Other Comments by agg

9. Comment #100571 by Bueller_007 on December 18, 2007 at 11:31 pm

"Agreed. Diapers, baby powder and a pacifier would have been more appropriate, not to mention useful."

For the Christians who are whinging about it, you mean.

Other Comments by Bueller_007

10. Comment #100576 by JemyM on December 18, 2007 at 11:51 pm

The word "offensive" seem to mean something else in Christianity.

Other Comments by JemyM

11. Comment #100578 by Dr Benway on December 18, 2007 at 11:52 pm

"The gifts that the wise men were giving were appropriate for a king, so the notion that Jesus would reject them is absurd," Dr Davies said.

Not a literal, earthly, political king. Symbolic king.

In contrast, the admonition to give your extra coat to the needy is the literal bit you're supposed to take seriously. Oh, and the part about not building up treasure on earth.

Just FYI: a luxury item like a telly that shows you upsetting ads counts as an extra coat.

Other Comments by Dr Benway

12. Comment #100580 by agg on December 19, 2007 at 12:01 am

Huh, Dr. Benway, what happened with that nice smiley avatar of yours? This one looks a lot more menacing... :)

Other Comments by agg

13. Comment #100581 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 12:07 am

Menacing only if purring troubles you.

That's Leo, an 11 year-old neutered male kindly allowing two kittens to suckle his entirely unimpressive teets - i.e., a saint if ever there was.

And, sadly, dying of chronic renal failure of uncertain cause, per the vet's report today. Three nights at the animal hospital. He's not a happy kitty. No, not at all.

Sniff.

Other Comments by Dr Benway

14. Comment #100582 by AdrianB on December 19, 2007 at 12:08 am

Well, I thought it was quite funny.

:)

Other Comments by AdrianB

15. Comment #100590 by agg on December 19, 2007 at 12:34 am

Dr. Benway, sorry to hear that. He looks younger on the pic and more intensely focused than sad. Very likable too, though I can't tell if he's Siamese.

Other Comments by agg

16. Comment #100595 by ralphj on December 19, 2007 at 12:54 am

The hidden assumption here is that someone should have a monopoly over how "their" religious characters and symbols can be portrayed or used. This is directly related to the argument that religious convictions somehow are of higher value than "mere opinions".

Other Comments by ralphj

17. Comment #100596 by JanChan on December 19, 2007 at 12:58 am

I hope this isn't going to end up as another boycott. It's not Christians that are being persecuted, it's the people who are exercising their freedom of speech.

Other Comments by JanChan

18. Comment #100597 by PJG on December 19, 2007 at 12:58 am

How to double an advert's exposure. Lesson One

Make a funny advert near Christmas time depicting something that a religious nut/humourless twerp would find offensive... because laughing at anything religious is just NOT the done thing... wait for said religious nut to complain...

Voila!

The ad gets talked about and advertised twice as much.

Very, very good marketing.

P.S. Dr. Benway... sorry about your pusscat.

Other Comments by PJG

19. Comment #100603 by ingl0rius on December 19, 2007 at 1:22 am

It's ironic in a way, as 'tacky' and 'offensive' are two words perfectly suited to a description of Christianity.

Other Comments by ingl0rius

20. Comment #100605 by Sossijj on December 19, 2007 at 1:25 am

See the link below for one of the funniest xmas adverts I've ever seen. Needless to say this one generated the most complaints ever received by the Advertising Standards Agency in the UK and was banned. Still a work of genius though.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tus8s2mKGME&feature=related

Other Comments by Sossijj

21. Comment #100608 by PJG on December 19, 2007 at 1:36 am

Oh thank you Sossijj. What a wonderful start to my day!!!

One for Dr. Benway - COMPLETELY off topic, but I think you'll like it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8

Other Comments by PJG

22. Comment #100611 by tieInterceptor on December 19, 2007 at 1:48 am

line of thought: ...the Muslims can get upset due to a teddy, god must think we are pansies, we MUST be hysterical too!

prints t-shirt: thin skinned 4 Jesus,

Other Comments by tieInterceptor

23. Comment #100614 by MGBOY on December 19, 2007 at 1:56 am

Tell them to go and get stuffed!

Cleaned that up, didn't I.

Other Comments by MGBOY

24. Comment #100618 by Mark Till on December 19, 2007 at 2:05 am

See the link below for one of the funniest xmas adverts I've ever seen. Needless to say this one generated the most complaints ever received by the Advertising Standards Agency in the UK and was banned. Still a work of genius though.

Ha-ha-ha! I think we can safely list another symptom of the faith meme - "sense of humour becomes badly damaged, or removed entirely, and may require a transplant."

I'm also getting sick of the weasily word "offensive", which one hears seemingly every couple of minutes now. All it means is: "I don't like that." Right. And?

G.K Chesterton said angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. In that case, Sydney Anglican Bishop Glenn Davies must need a crane to get out of bed in the morning. Or possibly a sky-hook...

Other Comments by Mark Till

25. Comment #100626 by agg on December 19, 2007 at 2:34 am

PJG (comment #18): Yeah, that's what I meant when I mentioned the fleas. Although, thinking about it now, this really isn't a dog-flea relationship (even if they explicitly refered to Richard, Sam, Dan or Hitch). It could be quite symbiotic because we also get to benefit when they bring forth the idiocy of the easily offended.

I vote for more of these...

Other Comments by agg

26. Comment #100632 by jeroen on December 19, 2007 at 2:47 am

There's a similar row in the Netherlands at the moment about cartoons in a brochure of the Dixons electronics chain, showing the 3 wise men using GPS systems to find their way around.
Our local Christians are outraged as usual.

Here's the image: http://www.depers.nl/beeld/w440/2007/200712/20071218/dixons.jpg

(This year, the three wise men were wiser... 'turn right, destination reached after 300m')

Other Comments by jeroen

27. Comment #100634 by Cartomancer on December 19, 2007 at 2:54 am

If three swarthy babbling astrologers from the east turned up at my house with gifts of money and toiletries I would be a tad suspicious as well I think. Well, tell a lie, in Glastonbury this sort of thing happens more often than not...

I'm not sure why anyone considered the Magi to be "wise men" in the first place though. Even the most brainless stargazer in the first centuries AD knew that the stars and other celestial phenomena were effectively at optical infinity (fixed to the outermost celestial sphere no less)and following them was a complete waste of time. And if they had known what kind of a reception astrologers and astronomers would get from the church a millennium and a half later (which, being astrologers, they should have seen coming) they would probably have smothered the delusional little monster at birth.

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28. Comment #100644 by gentle71 on December 19, 2007 at 3:32 am

Why do people even waste their time protesting that ad. Kind of boring anyway. It would be much funnier if they had the child say something like; "What the hell is this, some piece of metal, a foul smelling lotion and the last better not be a sweater".

Other Comments by gentle71

29. Comment #100647 by USA_Limey on December 19, 2007 at 3:43 am

Whilst agreeing with all above, I think we should acknowledge a double standard here. Makers of this kind of advertisement would not give Islam the same treatment and we all know why.

In that sense I think the Christians have a right to get sniffy.

Doc, sorry about your cat. I'm a cat lover; check out the talking cats vid on u-tube it's becoming something of a phenomenon. Last time I looked over a 1.5 million people had viewed it.

{EDIT} couldn't resist looking again myself, holy crap it's up top almost 6 million views now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3U0udLH974

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30. Comment #100666 by jeroen on December 19, 2007 at 4:44 am

>Whilst agreeing with all above, I think we should acknowledge a double standard here. Makers of this kind of advertisement would not give Islam the same treatment and we all know why. In that sense I think the Christians have a right to get sniffy.

... perhaps so, but that's not really relevant here.
We live in countries with a Christian Xmas tradition, so advertisers will use these images to sell their products. If these easily offended people say we live in places with a Christian tradition, they should handle the fact that the legends will also be used in wider society. Who cares that some other religion would have been more offended?

Other Comments by jeroen

31. Comment #100681 by Kakashi_monkey on December 19, 2007 at 5:29 am

LOL, that was funny! Even baby Jesus know when to reject gifts. Baby Jesus can be the source of plenty of jokes, and this is one of them.

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32. Comment #100682 by Dog Boots on December 19, 2007 at 5:31 am

I seem to have missed the place in the ad where we are told that it is supposed to depict the scene of the birth of Christ?

How do we know it's not Mithras?

Other Comments by Dog Boots

33. Comment #100684 by home8896 on December 19, 2007 at 5:36 am

I swear I've already seen this premise (though not this commercial itself) used for another company in the past. Why is it suddenly pissing off certain Christian groups?

Other Comments by home8896

34. Comment #100689 by Scott McMeekin on December 19, 2007 at 5:58 am

Hmmm. "Tacky and offensive exploitation"- this from Catholic priests. Pot and kettle anyone?

Scott.

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35. Comment #100691 by notsobad on December 19, 2007 at 6:03 am

Professional Christian have always supplied us with a lot of fun through their complaints.

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36. Comment #100727 by Dinah on December 19, 2007 at 8:19 am

One of the differences between Christianity and Islam is that Christianity is supposed to have gone through an Enlightenment. In other words, Christians should have a more mature reaction to satirical portraits of their particular version of the supernatural. Unfortunately, now Christians are seeing the 'respect' (ie downright fear) that Muslims receive whenever they cry 'Offence' and start setting fire to things, they naturally want to get in on the act. So expect more hissy fits and expressions of outrage from your friendly local vicar. And no doubt the smug vicar in the Archers will shortly be calling for Shula's atheist father-in-law to be burnt at the stake.

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37. Comment #100729 by blasphememe on December 19, 2007 at 8:22 am

I swear I've already seen this premise (though not this commercial itself) used for another company in the past. Why is it suddenly pissing off certain Christian groups?

I
The christians have learned from muslims the advantage of taking religious offence.

Other Comments by blasphememe

38. Comment #100802 by cowalker on December 19, 2007 at 10:56 am

Now I want to see one that shows Muhammed being hounded for gifts by his wives, and finding the perfect gift for all at X's jewelry store, at a bulk discount rate.

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39. Comment #100806 by Dr Benway on December 19, 2007 at 11:10 am

The christians have learned from muslims the advantage of taking religious offence.

Nothing shows off the hidden poison better than fatwa envy. How might we encourage these moments of "offence"?

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40. Comment #100814 by annabanana on December 19, 2007 at 11:30 am

cowalker,

Don't forget the free *teddy bear that you get when you spend X amount...by the way, I'm sure you can guess what this teddy bear's name is :)

Other Comments by annabanana

41. Comment #100834 by clodhopper on December 19, 2007 at 12:15 pm

Right....that's it. I'm going to market a Xtian Monopoly set next year.

Let's see, what shall we have after passing GO? Galillee maybe..

What shall we have on the Communion Cards; You Have Taken The Name Of The Lord In Vain - Go Back Three Spaces.

How about Last Supper Cards for the other deck?All the lead has been nicked off your church roof - Pay the bank 200 Sesterties

The year after I'm bringing out Islamic Monopoly.
Go straight to Mecca, Do Not Pass Go, Do not collect 200 dinars.

Suggestions Please?

If I survive the Fatwa I'm gonna be rich :-)

Other Comments by clodhopper

42. Comment #100842 by blasphememe on December 19, 2007 at 12:39 pm

The christians have learned from muslims the advantage of taking religious offence.

Nothing shows off the hidden poison better than fatwa envy. How might we encourage these moments of "offence"?

How about if "Muhammed the Teddy Bear" became the hottest gift item of the season! Or, to hit two birds with one stone - a nativity scene in which one of the wise men's gifts, is a teddy bear named ....

Other Comments by blasphememe

43. Comment #100843 by annabanana on December 19, 2007 at 12:43 pm

blasphememe,

Hahaha! I did actually ask my boyfriend if he was going to get me a teddy bear named Muhammed for the winter solstice celebration, aka Xmas...

Other Comments by annabanana

44. Comment #101088 by k1mgy on December 19, 2007 at 7:40 pm

A little hurl and a nice aromatic fart would have rounded it out nicely.

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45. Comment #103399 by star4liberty on December 25, 2007 at 12:27 pm

They should have given Baby Jesus a Teddy Bear named Mohammed

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46. Comment #103756 by dlitt on December 26, 2007 at 5:36 pm

What an idiot!

What is a baby going to do with gold, frankincense, and Mirh? It is perfectly reasonable to reject those gifts - they make very boring toys.

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47. Comment #115342 by jessivehadit on January 24, 2008 at 3:45 am

ha ha. This reminds me of the Family Guy video clip:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ngVz1GdLxpw

Other Comments by jessivehadit

48. Comment #115347 by salgiambruno on January 24, 2008 at 4:02 am

" . . . a tacky and offensive exploitation of religious imagery . . . "

As opposed to what, a tasteful and effective exploitation of religious imagery, maybe?

Let's see, where have we seen this marketing device used over and over and over again?

The con-artists really hate competition . . . reminds me of the drug and gang turf wars I've read about, with a difference being that the religious institutions use more civilized tactics and language.

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