BR Video: ASA complainants should 'lighten up'

Following last week's news that a poster pronouncing 'There definitely is a God' was the most complained about ad in 2009 and that an ad for the British Humanist Association was the sixth most complained about ad, we hit the streets to canvas public opinion.

Members of the public were shown an image of The Christian Party ad and the British Humanist Association's "There's probably no God" riposte.

Johnny, a 42 year-old consultant, said: "I don't find either of them offensive. Probably because I'm an atheist."

But Gloria, a 66-year-old retiree, said she found the humanist bus-panel ad more offensive, "because they're saying there definitely isn't a god".

Conversely, 27-year-old salesman Chris was more offended by the Christian viewpoint. "It's a bit presumptuous", he said.

Of all those asked, only one was – or admitted to being – a Christian. 19-year-old student Jerusha said: "Well, the fact that I'm a Christian, I'd be most offended by 'There's probably no god', because, obviously, I've grown up believing in a god."

But Steve, a 42-year-old interim manager said that religious freedom is one of the basic human rights "that the United Nations put in place", arguing that neither ad was offensive.

He said: "In places like China they put you in prison for saying things like that. In North Korea, they'd shoot you for saying that, so it's not offensive to me."

Vanessa, a 52-year-old housewife reckoned that consumers who spend their time complaining about these sort of ads, "should lighten up".