The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said that a promotional nightclub flyer should be removed as it is offensive to Catholics and Poles.
The leaflet for a “Beserk” night at the Club Fire in Ipswich depicted the late Pope John-Paul II holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a blonde woman in a very short dress.
The nightclub flyer was brought to the attention of the Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE) by the Ipswich Polish Club. ISCRE then passed the matter onto the ASA.
Sheila Solysik, secretray of the Ipswich Polish Club, said that a local Polish girl had complained about the flyer to her. Solysik said, "It was hugely offensive. The sheer volume of the reaction is what made us take the matter to ISCRE,” reports The Telegraph.
"It is unfortunate that the thoughtless actions of a marketing idea has created dismay amongst the Polish community and Catholic religion by depicting figures of high moral standards amongst ideas of inappropriate behaviour and surroundings."
She added that whilst for some the flyer may have seemed innocent, for the majority of people it would be deeply upsetting.
Jane Basham, director of ISCRE, said, "The depiction of the deceased Polish Pope particularly was clearly offensive and ISCRE believes that discrimination based on religious grounds is as abhorrent as any other.
"I am disappointed that neither the publicity company nor the club has offered any apology directly to our Polish and Catholic community."
A spokesman for Waped Ltd, who produced the flyer, admitted that depicting the late Pope had caused offence, but refused to concede that it denigrated Polish people or that it promoted irresponsibility by linking sex with alcohol
