A TV ad campaign featuring lingerie-clad women praying for beautiful hair has been banned by the advertising watchdog because it might offend Christians…
Ghd’s ads showed scantily-clad women in various positions, such as lying on a bed, while looking upwards with their hands clasped as if in prayer. Some had objects that looked like votive candles and rosary beads…
One woman was thinking “May my new curls make her feel choked with jealousy”, while another was saying to herself “May my flirty flicks puncture the heart of every man I see”. At the end of each ad an endline ran: “Thy will be done”.
The Advertising Standards Authority received a total of 23 complaints, including one from the Archdeacon of Liverpool, objecting that the ads were offensive to the Christian faith…
Martin Penny, the managing director of ghd, said that the ban was perplexing, adding that the company had used the phrase “a new religion for hair” for seven years with little problem…It is a fashion ad which is tasteful and sensitive. The ASA seem to be frightened of their own shadow.”
Brits are becoming so accustomed to tailing after the USA, they’re adopting all the stupid habits.
Just how much power does the ASA have in Britain?
I’m just curious.
Even as a person with no faith, these ads strike me as well beyond the bounds of good taste. They might be funny in the context of a comedy skit, but I can’t believe an advertising firm would actually pitch them. Unfortunately, these ads do reflect the type of things some people actually pray for.
The least they could do is tack on a “P.S. Dear Lord, please help the homeless to be almost as beautiful as me” 😉
“has been banned by the advertising watchdog because it might offend Christians.”
Maybe if they had the equivalent to the 1st Amend it wouldn’t have happened. That would be a “stupid habit” they could adopt…
@Gary: Right on!
The concept as described sickens me as a person of faith. Leaving aside the “scantily clad” part of it, the wallowing in personal vanity and self-focus that this seems to represent is particularly dreadful, and I can see why my fellow Christians might be unhappily vocal about it.
Would it still be considered whining if the women were praying to Allah.
Oh get off your high horses everybody! There is nothing unusual about this.
The ultimate goal of most private media is to SELL people crap. They make these kind of calculations ALL THE TIME… and not just for Christian. .. for every race, democratic, special interest group, male-female, etc. etc.
Christians were offended over something…
Imagine my surprise.
What can one say but GOOD GRIEF! I wouldn’t expect the Media to use my standards. I see far more damnable stuff on TBN.
I mean, who hasn’t prayed/wished aloud for a parking space close to the office or store? I’ll side with Gary, and OhForTheLoveOf on this one.
File it under get a life! (Makes me think of that photo of the girl posed on the bench that read ‘Let us Pray’ that shows up every so often)
Ah, another article projecting a one-sided view of Christians. If all I did was come here, I would think Christians were offended by everything and never did any good in the world.
>>> # 7 OhForTheLoveOf said, >> Christians were offended over something…
Don’t be a bigot.
Every special interest group complains about one thing or another. (not the rank-and-file but the enthusiasts.)
I mean, Apple guys are even more touchy, don’t you think? I’d be curious to hear from John Dv. if he’s received more angry letters from Christians or Apple fans.
Don’t be too concerned #9 – if and when xhristians do some good, they’ll let the whole world know about it through their radio and TV stations, PR babblers and, be assured, they’ll ask you for a handout to continue those good works.
Cripes. You’re whining over superstitions that have been diminishing ever since we discovered fire. Just a bit slower among part of the species.
#10 – Yes… everyone complains…
But when I am offended, I change the damn channel.
When Christians get offended, they change MY channel.
Those whiners have made an industry out of being offended and feigning their damn persecution complex. Does that make me a bigot? Fine… Whatever.
Oh – and nice tits.
Gee, I don’t see what all the fuss is about:
Good Lord …
#12 . Well said. I need to quote you !! You are so right.
I’ll be damned if Christians take away my Discovery Channel and other media for showing tits and lions.
I don’t see why the government needs to get involved in this.
If you don’t like what you see, change the channel and don’t buy their products. Seems pretty simple to me.
I don’t think they should be censored, but I wonder what the non-Christian public response to these ads has been, especially in terms of sales, the holiest of all grails in advertising. Do the ads boost sales enough to overcome the negatives of using a tagline quoting Jesus (“Thy will be done”) to sell hair products?
I don’t expect any violent riots to break out among Christians, but I still question the effectiveness of ads that could so strongly alienate part of their target audience.
I think almost ALL commercials are offensive.
/*whine*
#14 – Hahahaha
That is a pretty funny spot.
Anyone offended by that is just trying to be offended.
#14–hopper, I’m with you. I was all set to post the ad did sound rather shallow and misogynistic.
Amazing what you can start to think when you let other people do it for you? And I was doing it too.
The price of freedom is constant vigilance.
I’m surprised that with so little time left on this earth christians have time to watch TV espeically when their god thinks it’s a waste of time and a bad influence.
Christians, go molest some children or beat a spouse or better yet kill some Atheists!
Mt 6:13
#12 amen 🙂
[edit: duplicate]
Oooh, yes, please stop those ads! I don’t want to get my heart punctured by some blonde’s “flirty flicks”. Sounds dangerous, painful and it might kill me 🙂
#9, SomeTechguy,
If all I did was come here, I would think Christians were offended by everything and never did any good in the world.
Well, not really. You don’t have to come here to discover that.
Like my fellow Christians have never prayed for something small and somewhat selfish…I’ll admit I have before. “Lord, let my fuel last until I’m able to get to the bank and get some gas money!” So I personally don’t begrudge that of others, and I bet I’m not the only one.
Then again, as always, it’s the vocal minority idiots who get the press…
#27 Do I have to remind you and everyone else again? Just because the vocal ones are being stupid doesn’t mean all of us Christians are. Cut the generalizations, please.
yeah those fundamentalist christians are 100% not like the fundamentalist muslims in their opposition to freedom at all
nope, not one bit.
#28–shadowbird==I don’t know what you call stupid or intelligent, but believing in anything that is logically unsupportable and self contradictory while negating scientific facts is pretty much my definition of stupid.
Not a stretch to go from stupid about facts to stupid about values.