Christians Complain About Ads That Say "There's Probably No God"
The British Advertising Standards Authority has forced an atheist group to alter their advertising campaign to assert that “There’s probably no god.” Originally, the British Humanist Association wanted to run a campaign on London buses stating “There is no god.” But, as the LA Times reports,
The biggest kerfuffle has been over the word “probably” in the slogan, which the British advertising authority said should be thrown in to keep the ad from being potentially misleading, on the grounds that no one can say with 100% certainty that God does not exist.
Richard Dawkins, the Oxford biology professor fanous for his atheism, funded the campaign:
I wanted a stronger statement. However, I’ve come around to it now, partly because a complaint has now been made to the Advertising Standards Agency, which suggested that the word “probably” was necessary.
The ads state, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
British christians — walking right into the atheists’ trap! — are already complaining about the new, altered campaign. The Christian Voice claims the ads break rules on substantiation and truthfulness. Says Stephen Green, a complaining believer:
I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it.
Image by Flickr user Fabbio, CC
Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
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