Atheist Bus Advert *not* offensive

Well, duh.

There is to be no investigation into the atheist bus in spite of 326 complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.

In a statement today the ASA said: ‘The Advertising Standards Authority has concluded that the “There’s probably no God” bus ad campaign by the British Humanist Association is not in breach of the advertising code. The ASA will therefore not launch an investigation and the case is now closed. The ASA carefully assessed the 326 complaints it received. Some complained that the ad was offensive and denigratory to people of faith. Others challenged whether the ad was misleading because the advertiser would not be able to substantiate its claim that God “probably” does not exist. The ASA council concluded that the ad was an expression of the advertiser’s opinion and that the claims in it were not capable of objective substantiation. Although the ASA acknowledges that the content of the ad would be at odds with the beliefs of many, it concluded that it was unlikely to mislead or to cause serious or widespread offence.’

Now perhaps Stephen Green can get on with doing some proper work.