Red Bull drops Jesus ad

Red Bull drops Jesus ad: Energy-drink maker Red Bull says it has dropped an advertisement after an outcry from Christians for its portrayal of Jesus Christ walking on water.

Reponse: Open letter to Red Bull

Referring to my previous post  Open letter to Red Bull (Re: Jesus and disciples ad)

This was Red Bull's response:

Thank you for contacting us, we appreciate how strongly you feel about this. For over twenty years, Red Bull cartoons have looked at well known themes with a twinkle in the eye. It is never our intention to offend. This advertisement is part of a series and has now been followed by another.

My Reply:

Thank you for your response. Your reply however is neither an apology nor an admittance of offensive advertising on your part. I assume that future offensive advertisements are possible, and that Red Bull does not intend to withdraw the advertisement. I am sure had this advert depicted another religious icon, such as Muhammad, the Muslim community would take drastic action against Red Bull and a public outcry would follow.

As a Christian, I feel the same sense of injustice and offense. I urge Red Bull to take their customers seriously and not offend them. Do not be surprised if sales figures drop due to this. It is never a good idea to step on toes of religious institutions and beliefs for the sake of having giggle or "twinkle in the eye" as you would call it.

Once again, thank you for the quick response. I trust that Red Bull will listen to their customers, the life blood of any company.

Sincerely,
Francois Coeries

You can make up your own mind as to what Red Bull is saying with their response...

Comments welcomed.

Open letter to Red Bull (re: Jesus and disciples ad)

This is the letter I wrote to Red Bull, via their Facebook page:

This is a formal request to end the Jesus and disciples ad. As a Christian, I find it very offensive and blasphemous. I'm sure I am one of many thousands of people who want the add cancelled. There is no need for Red Bull to confront Christians in this way. It is uncalled for and certainly speaks of Red Bull's desperation to get people talking about their product. There are many ways to promote a product without having to overstep boundaries. 

The creators of this ad are obviously not Christian or of any other religious belief system, hence the unsympathetic and confrontational approach. I expect Red Bull to formally apologize to the Christian community. I look forward to your response regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
Francois Coeries (Cape Town, South Africa)

I urge all Bible believing Christians to do the same. We cannot allow our Saviour's name to be turned into a joke, suggesting that the miracles described in the Bible are a joke and brought down to the level of fools.

You can view the ad here