Burger King Spain pulls ad of Hindu Goddess

 

 

Bess writes: This is the advert of the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi, which Burger King Spain chose to promote its wares, alongside a slogan that reads "La Merienda es Sagrada" - "Tea-time is Sacred"

(the official translation in reports is “A snack that’s sacred” but La Merienda is a daily snack taken late afternoon/early evening). Following complaints - surely Burger King realised how sacred the cow is to Hindus? and Hinduism's emphasis on vegetarianism? - the advert has as Interfaith.org reports now been pulled.  “Burger King’s judgement in associating  burger with a Hindu goddess is absolutely baffling,” commented Suhag Shukla, director and legal counsel of the Hindu American Foundation.
The use of Hindu Gods and Goddesses on Western adverts is usually dubious, points out Jim Edwards on bnet advertising. He refers to the Saatchi and Saatchi ad for a Goa tour operator which showed images including a chubby boy eating wafers alongside a Hindu God.  The offices for the tour operator, Cox & Kings, were then ransacked by Hindus. Cox & Kings claimed the advert was “only meant to increase devotion” and encourage people to “visit places of religious interest.” Cox & Kings went so far as to claim that the advert would promote peace. However, ransacking an office is surely an act of religious bullying, that oversteps the quite justifiable need for complaint.