Ron Heather, from Southampton, said that he was "shocked" at the starkness of the ad, which is being run on 800 buses across Britain, and walked out of his shift last Saturday in protest.
Heather told BBC Radio Solent: "I was just about to board and there it was staring me in the face. My first reaction was shock horror.
"I felt that I could not drive that bus, I told my managers and they said they haven't got another one and I thought I better go home, so I did."
His employer, First Bus, said that it understood Heather's views on the subject, and would do everything they could to ensure that he does not have to drive the buses concerned.
Comments
Ad is having the desired impact then.
What a wimp.
If he's got faith, how can he have a problem with it? I'm agnostic and as much as I don't like the ads, I'll get on a bus that has an advert for the Alpha course.
dano - 16/01/2009
I wouldnt get on a bus regardless of what the ad was, peasants.
Its all about the impact of advertising and how different people percieve it. At the end of the day, every other atheist, agnostic and devout is watching the same message.
Interesting to see how he is treated.
I couldn't agree more Art, sack him. He is paid to drive the bus, and he failed to do that, plain and simple. It's not as if people who see the ad will assume that he wrote it either. Why are First Bus attempting to accomodate his wishes? If I refused to work on a pitch for a cigarette ad account, I would rightly expect the firm to sack me. I'm not there to make judgements... i'm there to produce the best work I can. And if I was expected to work on an account that encouraged the killing of kittens and puppies, then I would first voice a formal complaint, and then do the work anyway. I wouldn't just walk out. Bill Bernbach said "A principle isn't a principle until it costs you money". So yes Art, sack him.
What is the ad even for? And who paid for it to go on 800 buses? I do understand where he's coming from. If he's a Christian & believes in spreading the message of Christianity and is told to drive a bus around that says 'there's probably no god...' it completely contradicts everything he believes in.. but you do also need to seperate work and personal life.
@Christine, where have you been for the last 2 weeks? There's a searchable archive for questions like this. Catch up dear. What has the ad got to do with his ability to drive a bus? How is it mixing work and personal life?
William I dont agree with your comment that you would work on a campaign that encouraged the killing of kittens, now that is wrong - how do you justify that? Would you work on a campaign to promote terrorism??? I don;t think you would, so sometimes things are wrong and you must do the right thing, just because it's your job if something is not right you stand up to it....
PS. I dont agree with Ron walkign away from his shift!
what? sack him? you heartless bunch. serously when did the world become so down right mean.
you should be allowed to protest something if it is against your beliefs. I have been mortified by some people's callous reactions to people trying to stand up to what they believe in.
and William - a man with no morals who prizes money over anything else. what a guy.
Point taken Nicola. Absolutely - having no morals is far worse than having no money. I was merely pushing the point to illustrate that this man's reaction could have been handled better. To clarify my "kittens" comment... I used it as something that was explicitly unjustifiable. I don't even need to comment on the terrorism issue Sha - that's obviously unjustifiable. However, unlike the bus driver, I would take the proper course of action by writing formally expressing my ideas clearly over the matter - and if that didn't change the situation, then yes, of course I would quit. But I wouldn't just walk out. He should be sacked on unprofessional grounds alone. You must be seen to be taking the higher ground. So many protests on important issues don't get the respect they deserve because the manner in which they are handled is wrong. And in my opinion this driver's reaction was wrong too.
I'm delighted that William has softened his stance from one which would bring him alongside war criminals the world over ;-) but I am actually sympathetic to the position he is currently taking. A few years ago I was part of a group running the Bad Hair Day poster campaign to promote church going and had some issues when someone at the printing company refused to print the posters on the grounds that they were offensive. The reason we have an advertising complaints procedure is to allow protest and to adjudicate on grounds of truth and good taste. If an advertiser has to get clearance for anyone and everyone who comes into contact with the campaign to have right of veto then advertising is dead in the water. When I see a poster on the side of the bus I don't assume that the bus driver is in some way endorsing it. Nor do I expect the driver to approve everything written on the side of their bus. I look forward to a Will Self novel any time now where bus drivers are pulled out of their buses and lynched by feminists for having Lynx ads on the sides of their vehicles.
Tolerance isn't about agreeing with everything but being willing to live alongside things we disagree with. Otherwise all of us would be committed to personal censorship ripping down everything we find offensive. And that way madness lies.
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything."
-Alexander Hamilton
Well I believe we live in a democracy? I am personally a PASSIONATE agnostic and find endless messages of the power of 'good' .sic, and the deliverance of damnation quite intrusive and upsetting!
Shall I make a complaint? And where exactly should I deliver it to?
Comments
paul williams - 16/01/2009
Ad is having the desired impact then.
Jonathan Harris - 16/01/2009
What a wimp. If he's got faith, how can he have a problem with it? I'm agnostic and as much as I don't like the ads, I'll get on a bus that has an advert for the Alpha course.
Art Garfunkel - 16/01/2009
Sack him.
dano - 16/01/2009
I wouldnt get on a bus regardless of what the ad was, peasants.
Priyanka Kapoor - 17/01/2009
Its all about the impact of advertising and how different people percieve it. At the end of the day, every other atheist, agnostic and devout is watching the same message.
Simon J Hamer - 17/01/2009
Interesting to see how he is treated.
William Howard - 19/01/2009
I couldn't agree more Art, sack him. He is paid to drive the bus, and he failed to do that, plain and simple. It's not as if people who see the ad will assume that he wrote it either. Why are First Bus attempting to accomodate his wishes? If I refused to work on a pitch for a cigarette ad account, I would rightly expect the firm to sack me. I'm not there to make judgements... i'm there to produce the best work I can. And if I was expected to work on an account that encouraged the killing of kittens and puppies, then I would first voice a formal complaint, and then do the work anyway. I wouldn't just walk out. Bill Bernbach said "A principle isn't a principle until it costs you money". So yes Art, sack him.
Christine - 19/01/2009
What is the ad even for? And who paid for it to go on 800 buses? I do understand where he's coming from. If he's a Christian & believes in spreading the message of Christianity and is told to drive a bus around that says 'there's probably no god...' it completely contradicts everything he believes in.. but you do also need to seperate work and personal life.
Martin Corcoran - 19/01/2009
@Christine, where have you been for the last 2 weeks? There's a searchable archive for questions like this. Catch up dear. What has the ad got to do with his ability to drive a bus? How is it mixing work and personal life?
Sha Hussain - 19/01/2009
William I dont agree with your comment that you would work on a campaign that encouraged the killing of kittens, now that is wrong - how do you justify that? Would you work on a campaign to promote terrorism??? I don;t think you would, so sometimes things are wrong and you must do the right thing, just because it's your job if something is not right you stand up to it....
Sha Hussain - 19/01/2009
PS. I dont agree with Ron walkign away from his shift!
Nicola Lucas - 19/01/2009
what? sack him? you heartless bunch. serously when did the world become so down right mean. you should be allowed to protest something if it is against your beliefs. I have been mortified by some people's callous reactions to people trying to stand up to what they believe in.
Nicola Lucas - 19/01/2009
and William - a man with no morals who prizes money over anything else. what a guy.
William Howard - 19/01/2009
Point taken Nicola. Absolutely - having no morals is far worse than having no money. I was merely pushing the point to illustrate that this man's reaction could have been handled better. To clarify my "kittens" comment... I used it as something that was explicitly unjustifiable. I don't even need to comment on the terrorism issue Sha - that's obviously unjustifiable. However, unlike the bus driver, I would take the proper course of action by writing formally expressing my ideas clearly over the matter - and if that didn't change the situation, then yes, of course I would quit. But I wouldn't just walk out. He should be sacked on unprofessional grounds alone. You must be seen to be taking the higher ground. So many protests on important issues don't get the respect they deserve because the manner in which they are handled is wrong. And in my opinion this driver's reaction was wrong too.
John Griffiths - 19/01/2009
I'm delighted that William has softened his stance from one which would bring him alongside war criminals the world over ;-) but I am actually sympathetic to the position he is currently taking. A few years ago I was part of a group running the Bad Hair Day poster campaign to promote church going and had some issues when someone at the printing company refused to print the posters on the grounds that they were offensive. The reason we have an advertising complaints procedure is to allow protest and to adjudicate on grounds of truth and good taste. If an advertiser has to get clearance for anyone and everyone who comes into contact with the campaign to have right of veto then advertising is dead in the water. When I see a poster on the side of the bus I don't assume that the bus driver is in some way endorsing it. Nor do I expect the driver to approve everything written on the side of their bus. I look forward to a Will Self novel any time now where bus drivers are pulled out of their buses and lynched by feminists for having Lynx ads on the sides of their vehicles. Tolerance isn't about agreeing with everything but being willing to live alongside things we disagree with. Otherwise all of us would be committed to personal censorship ripping down everything we find offensive. And that way madness lies.
William Howard - 19/01/2009
Amen
artists unite - 20/01/2009
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." -Alexander Hamilton
Blair Jarvis - 20/01/2009
Well I believe we live in a democracy? I am personally a PASSIONATE agnostic and find endless messages of the power of 'good' .sic, and the deliverance of damnation quite intrusive and upsetting! Shall I make a complaint? And where exactly should I deliver it to?