Advertisements using words from the Lord’s Prayer alongside “eroticised images” of women have been banned because they were likely to cause serious offence to Christians.
The TV ads, which were run by Jamella Ltd to promote their GHD hair styler, showed the women appearing to pray. The text ‘Thy will be done’ was then displayed, with the letter ‘T’ depicted as a Christian cross. Roman Catholic imagery including rosary beads were also used.
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints about the advertisements, ruling that the language and imagery used were “likely to have particular significance to members of the Christian faith”.
The watchdog concluded that “the eroticised images of the women apparently in prayer, in conjunction with religious symbols such as the votive candle and the rosary beads, the use of the phrase ‘thy will be done’ from the Lords Prayer and the image of the letter t as the Cross of Jesus, were likely to cause serious offence, particularly to Christians”.
The ASA ruled that the advertisements “must not be shown again in their current form”.