Tis the season to be shocked by Tango adverts

CHURCH leaders were today united in their condemnation of drinks giant Britvic after a new controversial series of "obnoxious" advertisements looked set to further commercialise Christmas.

The company has already been widely criticised for its Regent Street Christmas decorations with the greeting: "Tis the Season to be Tango'd."

However, the new irreverent adverts to be featured in a nation- wide poster campaign for Tango owned by Britvic - go much further, though the company defends them with the claim that it is leading the attack on "crap Christmases". The advertisements feature children praying for Tango beneath the Star of Bethlehem. The prayers include "Please Lord let it be Tango" and "Let the poor children have Tango too". Managers at Tango claim they are simply being honest with their campaign by shamelessly exploiting the Season of Goodwill unlike other multinational companies which they accuse of being guilty of hypocrisy. Adam Harris, Tango brand manager, said: "People like to drink at this time of year and obviously we want them to drink more Tango. The difference is that we admit it while the others don't. "As purveyors of Britain's favourite festive fizz, Tango feels duty-bound to show up the corporate Christmas con artists who will stop at nothing to slip themselves into the shopper's back pocket and part them with their cash." The firm also described its Regent Street lights and banners as being both "a prank" and "tongue in cheek". However, dismayed church leaders today dismissed the new campaign as a failed attempt to shock. A spokesman for the Church of England General Synod said: "There is a growing tendency for agencies to go for free advertising at this time of year by messing around with religious imagery and shocking the media. This time they seem to have failed. Children in their innocence do pray for silly things and a lot of people will find these ads rather cute." The Roman Catholic Church condemned the campaign as obnoxious and exploitative. A spokesman said: "As the Vatican has said, there is nothing intrinsically good or intrinsically evil about advertising. It is a tool, an instrument: it can be used well and it can be used badly. Commercial advertisers sometimes include religious themes or use religious images or personages to sell products. "It is possible to do this in tasteful, acceptable ways, but the practice is obnoxious and offensive when it involves exploiting religion or treating it flippantly. Even if a campaign uses religious themes in an ironic or 'honest' way, it is still exploiting religion for commercial purposes." However, managers at Tango today remained unrepentant arguing the campaign, launched this week, "shatters the illusion which other brands create around themselves at this time of year".

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