Because it offended Christians, a poster of Demi Lovato sleeping on a bed shaped like a crucifix while wearing a bondage-style attire has been taken down.
The advertising watchdog discovered that the singer’s new album’s title had a clear reference to profanity and, along with the image, connected sexuality to a holy object.
According to Polydor Records, the artwork was created to promote the album and they did not find it to be objectionable.
After four days, the poster was taken down
The image of Ms. Lovato locked up in a bondage-style attire while resting on a mattress in the shape of a cross was the subject of complaints, according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which confirmed it had received them.
It went on to say that the singer’s “position with her legs chained to one side seemed reminiscent of Christ on the cross.”
The ASA said the poster was “likely to be perceived as tying sexuality to the religious emblem of the crucifix and the crucifixion” together with the album’s title, “Holy Fvck.” It stated that Christians were likely to take grave offense to this.
The eighth album by Demi Lovato, which was published in August 2022, details her difficult struggle through drug and alcohol addiction, mental health difficulties, rehab, and recovery.
She began writing it in December 2021, following a voluntary stay in treatment, and told the BBC: “I’ve stopped playing pop music. This album is rock.”
The singer is not the first to cause a stir in the religious community. When Madonna’s Like a Prayer video debuted in 1989, Christian organizations denounced it as blasphemous.
It featured the singer kissing a black Christ-like figure in a church while dancing around burning crosses. She was expelled from the Vatican in 1992 due to her erotica tape, which could only be aired in the wee hours.
Additionally, complaints were made to the ASA about the banner promoting Demi Lovato’s record being carelessly displayed in an area where kids may view it.
Before being torn down on August 23, 2022, it was erected in six locations throughout London.
The ASA concluded that most readers would understand from the album’s title that it made a profanity-related reference.
The ASA “thought that the ad was likely to result in serious and widespread offense and had been targeted irresponsibly” since it was displayed in a public area where minors were likely to view it.
The Universal Music Operations Ltd. division Polydor Records claimed that before publishing, they had confirmed with the agency Brotherhood Media that the poster was appropriate to run on the suggested sites. It claimed that Polydor had moved forward on the basis of an assurance from the agency that it was.
Brotherhood Media has been contacted by the BBC for comment.
The ASA decided that the poster must not be displayed in the manner it was complained of again unless it is appropriately targeted. It instructed Universal Music Operations Ltd to make sure that their advertisements in the future don’t create serious or widespread offense.
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