Atheist buses do not break advertising rules

Wednesday, 21 January 2009 12:00 AM

By Laura Miller

Buses which carry the slogan "There's probably no God" do not breach the advertising code, a watchdog has ruled.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it received 326 complaints over the campaign, organised by a loose coalition of secular groups and individuals.

Objections included that the wording was offensive to people who follow a religion and that the adverts denigrated people of faith. Others challenged whether they were misleading because the advertiser would not be able to prove its claim that God "probably" did not exist.

But the ASA closed the case after deciding the adverts were unlikely to deceive or cause widespread offence. It said the opinion in the adverts could not be "objectively substantiated".

No more complaints about the campaign would be investigated, the ASA said.

The adverts, with the slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," were launched earlier this month.

Last week, Christian bus driver Ron Heather, from Southampton, Hampshire, refused to drive one of the buses carrying the atheist slogan and walked out of his shift in protest.

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