Sunday, September 24, 2006

Car Dealer Ads Poking Fun at Religion

An Ohio Car dealer created a ridiculous radio ad using the Muslim religion and jihad as its theme. While it mentions the Pope it gives Catholicism a free ride. Parts of the ad are below:

The Dennis Mitsubishi spot declares “jihad on the automotive market”. The ad says sales representatives wearing "burqas" - head-to-toe traditional dress for Islamic women - will sell vehicles that can "comfortably seat 12 jihadists in the back."

"Our prices are lower than the evildoers' every day. Just ask the pope!" the ad says. "Friday is fatwa Friday, with free rubber swords for the kiddies." (A fatwa is a religious edict.)


Had Dennis Mitsubishi chosen a Catholic theme it could have declared its intentions to be a “predator on the automotive market”. Sales representatives wearing clerical collars - and posing as Sunday school teachers - will sell vehicles that can comfortable seat 6 priests and their child victims in the back”. That would be just as tasteless as the Muslim version.

Why people doing commerce believe they have free reign to demean and discount the faith of others is beyond me. This is not a reasoned theological debate, it is pointing out the failed practice of faith to drive car sales. That doesn’t make sense, unless you worship cars or the money a sale brings….

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