Boston gym’s ad featuring nuns and a naked man draws fire
Imprimir Incrementar tamaño de fuente Disminuir tamaño de fuente

Boston, Mass., Feb 1, 2008 / 03:28 am (CNA).- A Boston-area fitness club’s advertisement depicting nuns and a naked man has attracted harsh criticism, CBS News reports.

The advertisement for the Equinox fitness clubs, developed by the Fallon Worldwide ad agency, is being displayed in gyms and publications like Boston Magazine.  One ad features attractive young women dressed as nuns in habit who sketch a naked man while staring at his crotch.

C. J. Doyle of the Catholic Action league called the advertisement “unfair and depraved.”

"It's also an example of this perverse obsession that the advertising industry has with exploiting and sexualizing Catholic religious imagery," Doyle said to CBS.

CBS Affiliate WBZ-TV asked a Museum of Fine Arts expert to comment on the advertisement.  Marietta Cambareri said "It's evoking a very particular aspect of art, the study of classical statuary or using the human body as a tool to learn how to draw."

Bill Donahue of the New York-based Catholic league also criticized the advertisement, saying, “this patently stupid ad that Equinox is floating suggests that it must hype its edgy image in order to compete. That’s too bad—apparently their targeted demographic group isn’t lured by the prospect of more barbells and fruit bars. Hence, the need to rip off Catholic imagery in a sophomoric soft-porn ad.”

The Catholic League asked for the ad to be withdrawn, while the Archdiocese of Boston has said it wants an apology from the fitness club.

Imprimir Incrementar tamaño de fuente Disminuir tamaño de fuente
Subscriber comments:
Published by: Nancy
Seip 02/01/2008 12:49 PM EST
The museum of fine arts expert is as twisted as the ad agency. The ad is just offensive and very unimaginative. A person who would consider attending such a gym should consider making his mind more fit.
Rate this comment:
ADD A COMMENT (Your e-mail will NOT be published):
NAME:
CITY/STATE/COUNTRY:
EMAIL:
COMMENT:
 
PLEASE ENTER THE SECURITY CODE DISPLAYED ABOVE:
Chars:
* Thanks for your comments. The number of messages that can be online is limited. Length should not exceed 1500 characters. CNA reserves the right to edit messages for content and tone. Comments and opinions expressed by users do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of CNA. CNA will not publish comments with abusive language, insults or links to other pages.
ADVERTISING
Place your ad here
Resources:
Columns:
News:
Documents:
Tools:
ACI Group:
ACI Prensa