The tag line of the ad reads, “Immaculately conceived,” but to offended Roman Catholics, a controversial print advertisement is no gift from God, but an exercise in sacrilege.  The advertisement at the center of the controversy is an ad for Antonio Frederici ice cream which features a pregnant nun enjoying the frozen confection.  Complaints poured in, and the Advertising Standards Authority agreed with them, forcing the UK-based ice cream outfit to pull the ad.

Said the ASA of the eight complaints received by the print ad’s debut in UK magazines The Lady and Grazia:  “We considered the use of a nun pregnant through immaculate conception was likely to be seen as a distortion and mockery of the beliefs of Roman Catholics.  We concluded that to use such an image in a lighthearted way to advertise ice cream was likely to cause serious offence to readers, particularly those who practised the Roman Catholic faith.”

However, Frederici intends to continue pushing the envelope with its advertisements, and might even push more buttons with the placement of their next advert, with a spokeswoman saying, “We are in the process of securing a series of billboards close to and along the planned route of the Pope’s cavalcade around Westminster Cathedral.”  The ASA has previously forced Frederici to pull an ad featuring a priest and nun looking as though they were about to kiss.  Unless they were in a state of undress, the ads seem to be pretty tame considering all the sexy ads that get published everywhere these days.

Tags: pregnant nun ice cream ad, ice cream ad featuring pregnant nun banned, banned ads, advertisements, Antonio Federici, Advertising Standards Authority, ad pulled for mocking Catholicism, pregnant nun ad pulled, Immaculately Conceived, unusual ads, pregnant nun

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