Lastminute.com cleared of mocking the Christian faith

The posters for the on-line travel specialist depicted bright sunlight streaming through the clouds. In the bottom right-hand corner was the lastminute.com logo and the caption "Keep weekends sacred".

One of them read:

"And on the sixth day Mary didst flee the office for a humbly priced trip to New York. And she shopp'd til she didst hobble in her kitten heels. From the book of lastminute.com, 14:59 – 62."

Another read:

"And as David returned on the eighth day from Ibiza he told of how little he had paid. And his work colleagues didst have dark and beastly thoughts. From the book of lastminute.com, 9:58 - 59."

According to the ASA, someone objected that this use of religious language in the posters was offensive and mocked the Christian faith. But lastminute.com argued that the humorous campaign was designed to remind its target market to seek a work/life balance, by keeping "weekends sacred".

The adverts, it said, were placed on the London Underground to catch its market "at the time when it would most feel like keeping its weekends sacred".

The internet company explained that they had been careful not to breach the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) guidelines on avoiding religious offence by "concentrating on one of the less central aspects of the Christian faith and referring to Biblical language without being specific," according to the ASA ruling, which dismissed the complaint.

See:

• ASA's ruling here.
• CAP Code provision on decency in advertising here.