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London (pte054/26.04.2005/17:15) - Religious imagery in advertising caused more offence than sex and nudity last year, according to the industry watchdog's annual report. As the Media Guardian http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk reports, three of 2004's four most controversial advertisements provoked complaints on the grounds of religious offence, according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Adverts depicting a parody of the last supper, a real-life birth during a nativity play and a pun on the immaculate conception attracted the most complaints. "In such cases, the ASA must judge whether the offence caused to a minority is so serious that the unoffended majority should be prevented from seeing the ads in question," said Lord Borrie, the ASA chairman.
The non-TV advert to gather the most complaints was a poster for Shameless, a comedy family drama on Channel 4 about a dysfunctional Manchester family. Press and poster campaigns promoting the Shameless Christmas special depicted the rowdy family in the style of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper. The watchdog rejected the 264 complaints on the grounds that the advert parodied the old master rather than the religious occasion. A poster for Levonelle, a brand of morning-after pill, attracted 182 complaints. The ASA ruled that the advert, which carried the headline "Immaculate contraception? If only" was likely to cause widespread offence. (newsfox reports: http://www.newsfox.com/pte.mc?pte=041207034)
"While fewer adverts caused shocked headlines in 2004, more adverts were investigated by the ASA," said the regulator. The number of complaints relating to non-broadcast adverts fell to 12,711 - a decline of more than 10 per cent year-on-year, according to the ASA. It investigated 827 non-broadcast adverts, upholding complaints against 77 per cent of them. The number of non-broadcast adverts to be changed or withdrawn as a result of action by the ASA increased by 8 per cent to 1,835.
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