Axe Deodorant Ad Banned for Offending Christians

By Erin Donnelly 10/28/11 at 10:40 AM

A heavenly ad is turning hellish for Axe.

The deodorant brand has seen its latest campaign banned in South Africa because its depiction of gorgeous angels falling from heaven offends Christians, the Daily Mail reports.

Carrying the tagline "Angels will fall," the 60-second commercial sees models sporting wings and halos crashing down from the sky as a man walks down an Italian street. The smitten angels then throw their halos down as they chase after their fresh-smelling prey.

Following a complaint from a male Christian viewer, who said he was upset by "the suggestion that God's messengers could literally fall for a man on the basis of his shop-bought fragrance," the country's Advertising Standards Authority moved to ban the ad on the presumption that other viewers would also be offended.

"The problem is not so much that angels are used in the commercial, but rather that the angels are seen to forfeit, or perhaps forego their heavenly status for mortal desires," the ASA ruled.

"This is something that would likely offend Christians in the same manner as it offended the complainant."

Wonder what they'll make of those Victoria's Secret ads ...