Comments on: Atheist Bus Campaign in… Italy!

By: Kitty

Kitty — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:17:49 +0000

This campaign was quashed by the roman catholic church before it even began. Anyone who claims they aren’t the true power in italy, is a fool.

By: Antonio

Antonio — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:52:35 +0000

The motivations of ad agency are now available. My english is not good enough to express my feelings about it... let just say that I'm a bit angry but not surprised of the outcome.

By: Flavio

Flavio — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:56:08 +0000

eric, again, the campaign hasn’t started yet. The image is simulated and it was clearly stated.

And if things go on like this, the campaign will never start: the ad agency has rejected UAAR’s proposal, motivations still “unknown”…

By: eric perkins

eric perkins — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:36:51 +0000

Somebody has been playing in Photoshop… sorry everyone but this isn’t real.

By: Lopo

Lopo — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:46:37 +0000

Giordano, I’m from Italy too: the image is really a mock up, in the sense that it’s been made with Photoshop to show how the campaign is intended to be, since no bus carries that ad yet.
UAAR wants the campaign to start on February 4th.
As Daniele writes in another comment, “As soon as first enraged comments on the bus campaign popped out, the advertising agency claimed they didn’t know what the message would have been and that it has to be evaluated to decide whether or not to run it.”
And there’s a lot of pressures against the ad by priests, politicians (one of them called the ad “deceitful”), even a bus riders’ trade union, so it’s possible that the agency will opt for not accepting the ad.

Let’s see what happens, I think that we italian atheists will have to fight a lot to get those ad showing.

By: Szass Tam

Szass Tam — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:37:44 +0000

Hi Giordano, hi all ,

I also live in Italy and I can confirm, vatican is really oppressive!. Politically and administratively it represent another State, it is not Italy but is like if it was keeping unbelievable benefits.

I wish to start here an “If only we could have it dislocated in another country” campaign… who wants ? any volunteers or any ideas?

By: Basic Atheist

Basic Atheist — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:04:59 +0000

Perfect!

The Italians are showing us how to do it. Stop being a wuss and say it like you frailin’ mean it.

They’ve got baaalls. Big brass ones!

LOL.

By: Rieux

Rieux — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:09:02 +0000

Thank you for the report, Giordano!

Molte grazie!

By: Giordano

Giordano — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:10:51 +0000

I’m Italian and I live not far from Genova, the city of the “Ateobus”…I can confirm that the compaign started and that is not a mock up…
In Italy newspaper are talking a lot about it.

About the “probably” present in the English version and cancelled from the italian one…don’t forget, as someone else already said, the context.
In Italy the religious presence in the public life (especially in the newspaper, TV show, ecc.) is quite heavy and Vatican is always interfering in the governement activities regarding “ethic” regoulation (we are one of the last country in Europe without a regolation about omosexual couples or euthanasia, for example) and not only and there are also a lot public money payed by Italy to the church in various ways. People start finally to be tired and this is a normal reaction, I think.

By: micketymoc

micketymoc — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:01:44 +0000

Love it!

I just thought of a “qualified” version for areas with oversensitive religious majorities/hypersensitive advertisers:

“What if God didn’t really exist?…

What if you didn’t really need him?”

(Speaking as a copywriter with ample experience watering down copy for client’s sake)