Atheist ads do not violate code, says UK watchdog

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of the UK, after assessing around 326 complaints, has said that the advertising code has not been breached by an atheist UK bus campaign which uses the slogan: "There's probably no God".

A few of the complaints had argued that the wording of the campaign was offensive to people who followed a religion. The ASA, the authority that is responsible for ensuring compliance to the advertising standard code in the UK, concluded that the adverts as part of the campaign were unlikely to mislead or cause widespread offence, and therefore has closed the case.

The £140,000-atheist campaign was launched by the British Humanist Association, and is running on British buses and the London Underground since 6 January. Closing the case, the ASA said it would not investigate any more complaints about the campaign.

Complaints ranged from claiming that the advertisements were offensive and denigrated people of faith, to being challenged as misleading since the advertiser would not be able to substantiate the claim that God "probably" did not exist.

However, the ASA ruled the advertisers were an expression of the advertiser's opinion, and the claims of the advertisements were not capable of objective substantiation. While acknowledging that the campaign would be opposed to the beliefs of many, it said it was unlikely to mislead or to cause "serious or widespread offence".

The campaign's slogan reads "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life". It was launched earlier in January, after funds were raised for it by the British Humanist Association for it to be carried on 200 bendy buses in London and 600 other vehicles in England, Scotland and Wales.

Reports said that the campaign was first suggested by writer Ariane Sherine in a Guardian Comment is Free blog in June 2008, saying an atheist bus campaign would be a reassuring counter-message to religious slogans threatening non-Christians with hell and damnation.