Wednesday Dec 19 06:00 AEDT
By ninemsn staff
Christian leaders have slammed an advertisement showing baby Jesus throwing gifts back at the three wise men, branding it tacky and offensive.
The Betta Electrical commercial recreates the nativity scene, where Jesus lies in his manger as the three wise men offer their gifts.
The television commercial then shows him tossing the gifts out of the crib as the message “Give a better gift” flashes up on the screen.
Christian leaders and groups have criticised the advertisement, saying it perverts the true meaning of Christmas.
“The gifts that the wise men were giving were appropriate for a king, so the notion that Jesus would reject them is absurd,” senior Sydney Anglican Glenn Davies told The Daily Telegraph.
A spokesman for the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell condemned the depiction of Christ and said the clip showed how “commercialised” the festive season had become.
But the electrical store defended its actions, saying the ad was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek approach to Christmas.
“We accept that this could have been seen as offensive, but that was not the intention at all,” said Julianne Worchurst, marketing manager for BSR Group, which operates the electrical stores.
Only two people had complained about the advertisement but Ms Worchurst told the Telegraph the ad would be canned if complaints grew.
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