Hare Krishna devotees win case against Meat Ad

03-14-2003, 12:53 PM

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Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 14:24:37 +1300
To: vediculture-owner (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com,
From: Jaya Tirtha Charan dasan jtcd@...
Subject: Hare Krishna devotees win case to have TV advertisement removed due to offensive content:
Hare Krishna devotees win case to have TV advertisement
removed due to offensive content:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/vege-NZbeef-mock.html
AUCKLAND, NZ: 14th March 2003.
New Zealand Hare Krishna devotees are demanding a television
advertisement for meat be taken off the air because they say it ridicules
their religion. They have made a formal complaint over the NZ Beef and
Lamb Marketing Bureau advertisement, which features a group of butchers
dancing, singing and chanting along a street. The Hare Krishnas argue it
is a clear imitation of their chants.
"Chanting is traditionally taken to public on the street and it is a
serious activity not to be ridiculed," says Hare Krishna
spokesperson Jaya Shila. As vegetarians, the association with meat has
angered them even more. "The unnecessary killing of animals is
against our basic belief," Jaya Shila says.
But NZ Beef and Lamb says the Krishnas will just have to get used to the
campaign.
"The concept is butchers are jolly, happy characters, they're
extroverted and here's a shot of them dancing down the street (with their
knives, steels, pots and pans) singing the benefits of red meat,"
says spokesman Rod Slater.
"It's as simple as that.
"We're not pulling the ads, they're not meant to be offensive...
there's more in the series to come and we can't wait for that to
happen."
The Hare Krishnas have contacted lawyers and complained to the
Advertising Standards Authority.
They will consider whether the advertisement causes serious or widespread
offence, a decision that will take about a month.
It could well be that the butchers chanting and dancing days are numbered
!!! (Published on NZ TVONE News. Feb 20, 2003)
Great news - and NZ Beef and Lamb are forced to have to eat humble pie
instead:
"Advertising Standards Complaints Board said in
a letter posted out to all Complainants; After carefully considering the
information received from all parties the Board decided that the
complaint be Upheld as there had been a breach of relevant
code.
In
accordance with self-regulatory principles all parties have been
requested to voluntarily withdraw the advertisement in its present form
and to ensure that advertisements containing the material complained of
do not appear in the future." (ASA)
Numerous Hindu Societies, Indian Associations and Vegetarian Societies
and Vegan organizations all came together along with hundreds of other
sympathetic viewers came forward and made Formal Complaints to the
Advertising Standards Authority making it a clear and obvious case of
discrimination against Hindu-Vaishnava-Vegetarian-Human rights demeaning
them to sell their murderous product.
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