Hell of a pizza angers church

Hell Pizza is not concerned by a call by a Catholic newspaper to boycott its products in response to a recent condom mail-out.

To promote its Lust pizza, Hell distributed 170,000 condoms, along with explicit instructions on their use, to homes around the country.

The move prompted hundreds of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, which ruled Hell breached standards of decency and social responsibility.

An editorial in the latest edition of NZ Catholic newspaper calls on readers to abstain from purchasing any of the items from Hell.

Kirk MacGibbon of Cinderella Marketing, the firm which handles all of Hell’s advertising, said if Catholics decided on a boycott there wasn’t much Hell could do about it.

“I’m not sure how many Catholics buy from Hell, anyway,” Mr MacGibbon said.

The Lust campaign had been hugely successful, and had been a chance for Hell to be controversial while also doing some good, he said.

As well as promoting Hell pizzas, the campaign was meant to draw attention to New Zealand’s high rate of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, Mr MacGibbon said.

“When we did research we found … it’s people like the Catholic church who are giving people advice that condoms don’t work in protecting you from sexual diseases and the best course is abstinence. That is a load of rubbish.”

Mr MacGibbon said the company had a loyal customer base and sales wouldn’t be affected by a Catholic boycott.

The Lust controversy broke out shortly before Hell was purchased by new owners Tasman Pacific Foods (TPF).

Its new general manager Colin Mellar said the condom promotion had not offended TPF, nor had it dissuaded the company from buying Hell.

They weren’t worried about a possible boycott, and stood by Hell’s products, Mr Mellar said.

“If the Pope himself had tried the Lust pizza he might be a converted customer.”

Read Another Article

Woman beaten on Jerusalem bus for refusing to move to rear seat
Suspected Elizabeth Smart abductor unfit for trial

Related News Articles Topic(s): Offbeat News Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Offbeat News Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog