Jesus as a prawn ad cleared over offence to Christians

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 31-Jan-07, 08:30

LONDON - A press ad featuring a nativity scene with a king prawn in place of the baby Jesus has attracted 37 complaints to the advertising watchdog, but has been cleared of causing offence.

The ad was placed in food trade magazine The Grocer by The Big Prawn Company, as a humourous way to attract attention to the fact it was offering a new king prawn for Christmas delivery.

The line below the picture of the scene read: "A King is born."

A company called Food Chain Solutions and a number of members of the public complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the ad was offensive, especially to Christians. The ASA cleared the ad because it decided it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

The ASA noted that The Big Prawn Company had responded by letter to 16 complaints it received and had also printed an apology in the following issue of The Grocer, while The Grocer also responded by letter to 28 complaints it received.

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