I had yesterday a hamburger at the Finnish competitor of McDonalds, Hesburger. I did not expect to find this on the tray under my fries: an advertisement for a Christian camp (see pic). Some quotes from the advertisement:
Step in to the Bible village! (Astu sisään Raamattukylään!)
On the road of the Bible village you will meet familiar figures and everyone of them has their own story to tell. (Raamattukylän raitilla tulee vastaan tuttuja henkilöitä, joilla jokaisella on oma tarinansa kerrottavana.)
They also tell that on the green fields they have The Arc of Noah, a musical play about the ”persistence of mothers and caring that crosses boundaries”.
I freaked out. I do not wish to see religious advertising in a hamburger restaurant. I first thought that the advertising space had been bought by Vivamon Raamattukylä but the ad also has the logo of Hesburger in the lower right corner. I would love to know what is the thinking behind this.
Here is the full text in Finnish:
Uusi, mielenkiintoinen retkikohde kaikenikäisille avaa ovensa. Se sijaitsee erinomaisten kulkuyhteyksien varrella. Ikiaikaiset kertomukset heräävät eloon upeissa järvimaisemissa yli 30 hehtaarin kokoisella alueella.
Astu sisälle Raamattukylään!
Vehmailla laitumilla laiduntaa lampaita ja aasi, pelloilla kohoaa Nooan arkki ja vanhassa vajassa toimii viehöttävä nukketeatteri. Raamattukylän raitilla tulee vastaan tuttuja henkilöitä, joilla jokaisella on oma tarinansa kerrottavana.
Suurteltassa nähdään musiikkinäytelmä, joka kertoo äitien sinnikkyydestä ja rajoja ylittävästä välittämisestä. Vehreässä omenapuutarhassa lapset voivat päästää luovuutensa valloilleen. Kahvila Pienen pojan eväät tarjoaa virvokkeita. Välillä voi kiivetä kahdeksan metrin korkeudella sijaitsevaan Ystävyyden Majaan tai poiketa Maailman kotaan.
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6 comments:
The guy behind Hesburger is a fairly religious man (in addition to insulting the intelligence of his customers and looking down on urban culture in print) and he has donated large sums to some fairly out-there christian organizations. Anti-gay organizations, obviously. Or so I have heard, I cannot recall the source.
Personally, if I absolutely have to have a fast food burger in Finland, I choose McDonald's. The devil you know, and all that.
Jaakko
The thinking behind this? It's a free/capitalist (any which way you like to put it) world, you can advertise what you like, even biblical theme park. There are Krishna operated restaurants as well, not in Finland though.
Still, I feel that there is one restaurant less to eat at...
I agree that they are not breaking any laws. I was just expressing that I personally was not really fond of it and would presume that I am not the only customer with that feeling.
What actually makes you so upset? Religion is not out, if that is what you think. The fact that you live in a fairly atheist country does not mean that everybody has to be atheist, or rather anti-theist, as you seem to be.
What the owner of Hesburger has experienced religiously in his live is real to him, and there is no reason to take that away from him, to make fun of that or to call him an idiot.
Why can't atheists grow up?
I wonder where Jaakko got his information from. There are no anti-gay organizations in Finland (at least not officially). The venue of the Bible Village has regularly been the stage for the most famous gay Christian artist in Finland, so I doubt whether gays should be concerned about Hesburger's or Vivamo's policy.
And regardless of whether you want to believe in God or not, the Bible is an intriguing book with a lot of wisdom in it, be it colored culturally. I recommend it alongside other great religious and philosophical works like the Quran or works of Dalai Lama, Aristotle, Plato or Erasmus, just to mention a few.
I agree with Arnold that it is not civilized or even smart to condemn believers offhand.
What is your problem with religions anyway? Religions are part of everyday life of majority of the people in the world. I find it very childish that you get annoyed by a religious ad... you really should have a look at the world around you. It's a religious world!
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