The Advertising Standards Authority's Committee of Advertising Practice, which writes the rules for non-broadcast advertising, has issued a new help note on religious offence to bring the guidelines up to date.
Up until now, the rules had been mainly concerned with Christianity, historically the most established faith in the UK.
However, the new guidelines recognise that many religions with different beliefs co-exist in the UK today, and without clear guidelines, advertising can easily cause offence.
Recent examples of ads that have upset religious groups include a poster of sprinter Dwain Chambers dressed only in a pair of Adidas trainers and one showing a row of naked bottoms advertising Velvet toilet tissue, which were situated near mosques.
The guidelines say that light-hearted treatments of religion are more likely to be acceptable than mocking ones. However, ads that are dismissive of religious symbolism or texts will not be allowed, neither will links between religion and sex or nudity, nor using religion to advertise inappropriate products, such as Catholic references to birth control or Muslim imagery to advertise alcohol.
The ASA's director general Christopher Graham said: "These guidelines are about prevention rather than cure. The ASA is not in the business of trying to censor future advertising, but rather we aim to ensure that the potential for hurt and offence is minimised. By taking some simple steps, such as making sure that controversial posters don't appear close to places of worship, marketers can go a long way to avoid causing serious offence."
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