Mulberry’s Christmas campaign using a luxury hand bag in place of baby Jesus in a tongue-in-cheek take on the nativity story has avoided censure from the advertising watchdog despite dozens of complaints that it was offensive to Christians.
The Advertising Standards Authority received 42 complaints that the ad was offensive to Christians, “undermined the central messages of their faith”, and was blasphemous.
Mulberry said that offence was a “subjective concept” and that the ad, created by John Lewis’s ad agency Adam&EveDDB, was a “light-hearted” reference to the nativity scene.
In the video ad, which ran on YouTube and Mulberry’s website, three “wise” men are seen turning up unexpectedly to praise the gift of a Mulberry bag a woman has just opened.
Mulberry said it was clearly tongue-in-cheek when the man who gave the gift says “guys, it’s just a bag”. YouTube said the ad did not violate its community guidelines or advertising policies.
The ASA said it was a “playful and ridiculous” comparison with the nativity story which was more likely to be seen as a humorous reference to consumerism than ridiculing the religious story.
“We acknowledged that the ad might not be to everyone’s taste, but considered most viewers would understand it as a light-hearted take on the nativity story, intended to poke fun at the effect of consumerism on Christmas rather than mocking or denigrating Christian belief,” ruled the ASA. “Because of that, we considered the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.”
