Controversy Erupts Over Potato Chip Commercial Involving Nuns and Communion
A recent potato chip advertisement depicting nuns partaking in communion with the crispy snacks has stirred up controversy in Italy. The Italian Catholic community is outraged, labeling the commercial as blasphemous and demanding its removal from television screens.
An Italian Catholic organization has called for the removal of a potato chip commercial that shows nuns receiving the snacks for communion, deeming it as "blasphemy".
The advertisement by Amica Chips depicts young nuns in a convent happily discovering that their communion wafer, also known as the host, is in fact a potato chip.
The nuns giggle as they watch a mother superior figure. It is then revealed that she is the one who replaced the hosts with potato chips in the tabernacle, where communion wafers are stored.
Catholics hold the belief that the communion wafer symbolizes the body and blood of Christ.
A nun about to receive a potato chip from a priest in the commercial.
A nun about to receive a potato chip from a priest in the commercial.
Amica Chips/Instagram
Giovanni Baggio, the head of AIART, a Catholic group that monitors Italian radio and television, called the ad “blasphemy.”
Baggio expressed his disapproval of the 30-second commercial, stating that it was "outrageous" and offensive to millions of practicing Catholics. He felt that the comparison made between a potato chip and a consecrated object trivialized the beliefs of the Catholic community.
The towers in Bologna date back to the 12 century.
The towers in Bologna date back to the 12 century.
Francesco Riccardo Iacomino/Moment RF/Getty Images
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The Catholic newspaper Avvenire criticized the ad in an editorial, stating that "Christ has been reduced to a potato chip, debased and vilified like 2,000 years ago."
Similarly, social media users reacted with horror.
One Instagram user expressed their outrage, stating, "This is blasphemy! Respect Our Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist!"
Another individual warned, "You don’t play with God. To my Italian friends, I suggest a total boycott of this company."
One user expressed that Amica Chips had upset all Catholics worldwide, while another individual accused the company of showing a significant lack of respect.
Amica Chips chose not to respond to a comment request.
Editor's P/S:
The commercial
