The top UK cinemas have refused to play a 60 second advert featuring the Lord’s Prayer, which was due to screen before the new Star Wars film.
Digital Cinema Media (DCM), the company which manages the film advertising for Odeon, Cineworld and Vue has refused to show the advert because it believes that it could cause offence.
The advert features the Lord’s Prayer being said and sung by various people including refugees, weightlifters, farmers, a gospel choir and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The advert was cleared by the Cinema Advertising Authority and rated U – suitable for all – by the British Board of Film Classification.
Watch the advert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlUXh4mx4gI&feature=youtu.be
The ban on the advert has been labeled as ‘ridiculous’ by Prime Minister David Cameron, London Mayer Boris Johnson has said that the ban is ‘outrageous’ and the Church of England who produced the advert are considering legal action against DCM.
Since the news broke, the publicity for the advert has been massive and sent it viral, with over 260 thousand views since Saturday, reaching far more people than it would as a cinema advert.