In the truth is stranger than fiction category, this just in from London… It would seem that an ad campaign featuring a series of billboards for online bookmaker Paddy Power has had to be withdrawn after a warning it could cause serious offence because it showed images of Jesus seated behind a stack of gambling chips. The poster drew widespread complaints for showing a pastiche of Leonardo da Vinci's painting 'The Last Supper' with Jesus next to the chips and the Apostles playing cards or roulette! The tagline stated: "There's a place for fun and games". Text at the bottom of the ad read: "Paddypower.com poker -- casino -- betting -- games".
Paddy Power, an Irish company, said that many of its employees were devout Catholics, and none had taken offence. A consumer test also recorded a positive response. The test was no doubt carried out in Dublin Pubs between the 3.00 at Ascot and the 3.30 at Newmarket.
Hey Judas... I'll raise you thirty pieces of silver!
Not surprised though. Seems all these poker places use 'shockvertising' as the backbone of their marketing plans.
I'm surprised the church wasn't also riled up over the fact that they made John the Baptist a woman too, at least after all the hubbub over the DaVinci Code stuff.
Posted by: caff | January 11, 2006 1:13 PM | Permalink to Comment