A guest blog from Heliopolitan.
The world held its breath last week, as that reliable news source WorldNet Daily reported that the Patriarch Abune Paulos of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was preparing to unveil to an expectant world the greatest treasure of ancient times. It has been missing for millennia - some even doubt that it ever existed. Said to contain the power to vanquish any opposing foe, a single disrespectful touch was enough to kill a man instantly. A fabulous casket, made of acacia wood, smothered in gleaming gold leaf, surmounted by winged creatures and the Mercy Seat of God Himself, and containing the very tablets that Moses took down from Sinai. The holiest relic of ancient Israel: The Ark of the Covenant.
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This is one of the less raunchy versions of the ad that has fallen foul of the Advertising Standards Authority.
The ASA says, "We considered that the portrayal of the priest and nun in a sexualised manner - and the implication that they were considering whether or not to give in to temptation - was likely to cause serious offence to some readers." The watchdog has banned the ads, which include images of the model playing the priest with his clerical clothing torn from his body.
The publisher has apologised for any offence caused, though they maintain that their target audience, aged between 25 and 55, would not be offended by the campaign. They say their campaign's original ambition was to create a "tongue-in-cheek" portrayal of Antonio Federici ice cream as "forbidden Italian temptation".
"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." I've no idea who said that, or if it has much merit, but it's eminently quotable. It also has the virtue of being an "idea", albeit a fairly pedestrian one.
But it prompts a conversation about celebrity culture and our global obsession with Michael Jackson. Perhaps one of the reasons why so many people are building "shrines" at locations related to Michael Jackson's story is that celebrity culture has taken the place that religion once had in our society. Celebrities are secular saints. Their deaths become moments of pseudo-religious intensity. People make pilgrimages to celebrity sites where once they travelled to Canterbury.
Celebrity is also a replacement for family and for a sense of community. Postmodern people live postmodern lives. Often separated, often isolated, they crave community through virtual connections. The common experience of a media-generated narrative becomes a unifying feature of their lives.
Is that why we're all talking about Michael Jackson so much?
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