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Soft drink ad featuring cow gets Hindus' goat in Berkshire

Murali Krishnan in London

The Hindus are protesting again. This time they have reacted with outrage after an advertising billboard, which pokes fun at cow-slaughter, was put up next to a temple.

Devotees at the Slough temple were taken aback last week in Berkshire when they read the huge poster for the soft drink, Irn-Bru, as they went to pray.

The controversial advertisement, features a cow, considered a sacred animal by the Hindus, saying: "When I'm a burger, I want to be washed down with Irn-Bru."

Late last year, the Hindu communities in Birmingham and Manchester were up in arms when designer footwear company Clark's introduced their winter footwear, christening two brands, 'Krishna' and 'Vishnu'.

Numerous demonstrations, sit-ins and rallies finally forced Clark's management to withdraw the footwear and also apologise for offending religious sentiments.

It is the same mood over again. Hashmukh Shah, a trustee for the World Council of Hindus, warned the company to take down the ad or face the consequences.

"We recommend they withdraw the advert and apologise, otherwise we will take appropriate action -- it will be a rude awakening," he blasted.

O P Sharma, another prominent Hindu leader, said; "We demand to be treated as equal citizens of this country. The insensitivity of commercial companies selling their goods is not good for race relations. They do not take into account the feelings of different faiths."

The makers of Irn-Bru, drinks giant AG Barr Limited, admit to having received a flood of complaints about the ads, but refuse to withdraw the offending poster campaign.

"We have received a number of complaints but at the same time we have also had congratulatory letters on the humorous aspects of the advert," said a spokesperson.

However, not willing to be caught in a religious warfare, Ibn-Bru decided two days back that they would remove the offending poster.

"It will be coming down, but it has nothing to do with the complaints," was their response.

What has surprised the Hindu community is the refusal of the official advertising watchdog, the Advertisement Standards Authority, to intervene.

Despite being inundated with hundreds of complaints from shocked members of the public, they refused to take action.

"Just because something is distasteful does not make it offensive," said an ASA official. "We have to take into account the context, humour and where the advert is."

Yogesh Patel from the Swaminarayan Temple in Neasden, Wembley is furious at the ASA's attitude.

"Something has to be done as what has happened is insensitive and violative." He believed there was a necessity to draw up a code of conduct so that feelings of communities could be taken into account.

Just before the Clark's controversy, the Hindus in the Midlands had protested against a garbage-removing firm, Sita, and insisted that it be banned from their council. They reckoned naming a rubbish-clearing organisation after the goddess of purity was blasphemy.

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