ASA Adjudication on News International Limited

Ad

A radio ad for The Times on Classic FM featured what sounded like a Christian religious leader delivering a sermon; “In the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit, the daughter in law, the child and the bloodline. Truth or conspiracy?" A voiceover said "Whatever your beliefs, find out more about the controversial theories, myths and legends in the Da Vinci Code with the Mini Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code free with the Times today when you buy it at WH Smith ... "

Issue

Eight listeners believed that the addition of "the daughter in law, the child and the bloodline" to the Holy Trinity to sell a commercial product was offensive to Christians, because it mocked a Christian invocation to God.

Investigated under CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code Section 2 rule 9(d) (Good taste, decency and offence to public feeling - religious or political beliefs).

Response

The Times said they regretted that the ad had caused offence; their intention had not been to mock any Christian beliefs, but to reflect the content of the novel, provoke debate and suggest that the guide could try and shed some light on some of the controversial theories.  They said that, although the ad had played on nearly 60 stations, all the complainants had heard the ad on Classic FM; they believed Classic FM had a particularly conservative listeners.

The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC) said they were sensitive to the issue of religious offence but did not consider that the ad mocked Christian practice, either in context or tone.  They believed the ad was a reflection of the Da Vinci Code story and it would have been hard to avoid some Christian references considering the subject matter.  They said the ad acknowledged that the Da Vinci Code story might not be the true Christian story and the voiceover described the book as containing "controversial theories, myths and legends."

Assessment

Complaint not upheld

The ASA noted the Da Vinci Code story was inextricably linked with Christianity and the avoidance of references to Christianity in the ad would have been difficult.  We considered most listeners would be aware of the nature and content of the Da Vinci Code book and would understand the context in which the ad was placed.  While we noted some Christians had objected to it, we considered that the ad would not be regarded as offensive, deprecating or hurtful to Christians or listeners generally.

Action

No further action necessary