UK: Dancing Pope flyer banned
We read:
"A nightclub leaflet showing the late Pope John Paul II holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a blonde woman has been banned. The leaflet shows Pope John Paul II with a bottle of beer dancing with a blonde woman wearing a short dress.
The Advertising Standards Authority branded the flyer offensive and ordered it to be removed after a complaint by the Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE) on behalf of angry Poles and Catholics.
It was distributed to promote a night called Berserk at Club Fire nightclub in Ipswich. Sheila Soltysik, secretary of Ipswich Polish Club, said a local Polish girl had complained to her. She said: "It was hugely offensive. The sheer volume of the reaction is what made us take the matter to ISCRE.
"It is unfortunate that the thoughtless actions of a marketing idea has created dismay amongst the Polish community and Catholic religion by depicting figures of high moral standards amongst ideas of inappropriate behaviour and surroundings.
Source
Pope John Paul II is revered by many Poles so one can understand their hurt feelings -- and hurt feelings are not allowed these days, it seems.
12 comments:
Yes, and you can add "until the comedy is about them"!
This ad should have been banned.
It is offensive.
It is offensive to every professional who uses Photoshop.
No censorship! Besides, he's in heaven now. His celebacy vows are now rescinded.
It's a leaflet for crying out loud, if you don't like it you throw it in the garbage.
Why do the British bother with an Advertising Standards Authority?
In America we can boycott people without hurting free speech, just like it was done with the Dixie Chicks and Dr. Laura.
Oh, the poor, poor, pitiful poles.
It shouldn't need to be banned, the business using it for a promotion should have seen such a drop in sales that they'd have pulled it on their own. If they didn't see such a drop in sales then it obviously wasn't offensive enough to require it to be banned.
The only good thing is the are consistent (stupidly so, but...)I am surprised they did anything, as it is Catholic.
The flier should not have been banned, as this should have been a civil matter for the Church and the business concerned.
The Church should have sued the business into the ground for using an image of the Pope in an advertising campaign without prior consent.
In America, such would be the result - not some government bureaucrat saying "oooh...we can't offend people."
I wonder if the reaction would have been deferent if the blonde was replaced by an alter boy. :)
Using an individual's picture for advertisement without their permission is not free speech.
"Using an individual's picture for advertisement without their permission is not free speech."
---Sorry, but the Pope is/was a public figure, Europe is full of advertising using George W. Bush and other celebrities, maybe that particular image was under the public domain.
I'm not against the rights of Catholics to be outraged, to boycott the place, to write letters to the editor, call the bar and complain, all that is part of free speech, but for the Advertising Authority to be making decisions violates the concept of a marketplace of ideas, which England clearly lacks.
---Sorry, but the Pope is/was a public figure, Europe is full of advertising using George W. Bush and other celebrities, maybe that particular image was under the public domain.
"Public figures" still retain their rights when it comes to being used in ads. The "public figure" exemption deals more with a news photo where the news group does not have to obtain a release for the photo as the person is a "public figure."
There is a vast difference between news photos and advertising. The courts have long held that in the realm of advertising, the individual holds the rights to the use of their name and likeness.
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