CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
The United Kingdom's Gay Police Association got a slapped wrist Tuesday from an advertising industry group that found untruthful its controversial "blood and Bible" newspaper ad placed during EuroPride in London.
The police group took out a double-page ad in The Independent newspaper's June 29 diversity supplement, coinciding with EuroPride celebrations that weekend.
The ad, which prominently featured a pool of blood and a blood-colored Bible, was titled "In the Name of the Father." It claimed that crimes against gays "where the sole or primary motivating factor was the religious belief of the perpetrator" had risen 74% in the year since civil unions became legal. And it complained of a rise in homophobic bullying by fellow officers during that time.
Incensed Christians got Scotland Yard to investigate whether the ad was a violation of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006, which targets "offenses involving stirring up hatred against persons on racial or religious grounds." Authorities declined to prosecute, however.
More than 550 people complained to Britain's Advertising Standards Authority, a self-regulatory panel, claiming the ad implied that the teachings of the Bible and Christianity were responsible for and condoned violence against gays.
In a judgment released Tuesday, the advertising group rejected the claim.
"We recognized that the juxtaposition of passionately held iconography, such as the Bible, alongside the image of blood, was likely to be deemed inappropriate by some," the ad group stated.
"While we appreciated that the imagery might cause concern, and notwithstanding the [gay police] argument, we considered that supporting text clarified the context of the images and headline: We considered that, overall, the ad did not imply Christian teaching was responsible for, or condoned, homophobic incidents."
The Advertising Standards Authority did, however, agree that the ad could cause offense.
It found the ad untruthful in its claim that calls about homophobic incidents had increased by 74%, and it criticized the police group for being unable to back up its statement with evidence.
The ad group said in its ruling that "by featuring spilt blood prominently, the ad suggested that all the reported incidents involved physical injury."
"On this point, the advert breached the truthfulness code," it added.
The ad group's statement said it told the Gay Police Association to "ensure future campaigns were not presented in a way that could cause undue offense and also reminded them that they should ensure the use of imagery did not send misleading messages to consumers." It also asked the police group to "ensure any statistics could be substantiated and reminded them to show supporting data to the ASA upon request" after it had failed to do so.
An Advertising Standards Authority spokeswoman said, "This is our most-complained-about campaign advert of the year so far. People thought it was portraying Christians in a bad light."
The Gay Police Association said that the ad was designed to be thought-provoking and challenging but that it was never intended to castigate or describe all religious followers as homophobic. (U.K./Gay.com)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Jodie Foster leaves her mark in cement at L.A.'s Chinese Theatre
April 22 2024 7:55 AM
Climate change has a bigger impact on LGBTQ+ couples than straight couples. Here's how
April 22 2024 7:42 AM
Iraq postpones vote on bill punishing gay sex with death
April 20 2024 1:31 PM
Russian poetry contest bans entries from transgender poets
April 20 2024 1:25 PM
Here's who won 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 16
April 20 2024 1:01 PM
The Tip Off: A beginners guide to the WNBA
April 20 2024 11:06 AM
John Fetterman challenges Pa. school board’s cancellation of talk by gay actor
April 19 2024 2:39 PM
New study finds inadequate response to mpox outbreak
April 19 2024 2:06 PM
Fighting back against MAGA’s attacks on equality
April 19 2024 1:00 PM
Just one Christian Nationalist group is behind Idaho's bans on trans care and abortion
April 19 2024 11:57 AM
Linda Perry opens up in new documentary, premiering in June at Tribeca Festival
April 19 2024 11:43 AM