Members of the Australian Indian community are angry about a new lamb ad which depicts the Hindu God Ganesha eating meat and drinking wine, despite being widely considered a vegetarian and teetotaller by practitioners of the religion.
The ad depicts religious figures from many religions — including Jesus, Buddha, and Moses — eating together at a backyard barbecue.
At one point Buddha asks: "Should we address the elephant in the room?" to which Ganesha, who is depicted as a man with the head of an elephant and multiple arms, replies: "Not funny 2,500 years ago, not funny now".
Mohammed calls in at one point apologising for not being able to make it, because he has to pick up kids from day care.
Indian Society of Western Australia spokesman Nitin Vashisht said the ad was insensitive.
"[He is a] vegetarian teetotaller, and that's really God for us and most of the Indian community.
"He is shown as drinking wine, eating lamb and looking for a new marketing strategy for himself [and that] is really very insensitive to the community."
This is not the first time MLA has got into hot water over an advertising campaign.
Last year it was referred to the Advertising Standards Board for an ad which featured high-profile newsreader Lee Lin Chin masterminding an operation to bring Australians home for Australia Day so they could eat lamb.
It included a SWAT-style operation where a vegan was "rescued" and his kale blowtorched.
The board found it did not incite violence against vegans.
The ad depicts religious figures from many religions — including Jesus, Buddha, and Moses — eating together at a backyard barbecue.
At one point Buddha asks: "Should we address the elephant in the room?" to which Ganesha, who is depicted as a man with the head of an elephant and multiple arms, replies: "Not funny 2,500 years ago, not funny now".
Mohammed calls in at one point apologising for not being able to make it, because he has to pick up kids from day care.
Indian Society of Western Australia spokesman Nitin Vashisht said the ad was insensitive.
"[He is a] vegetarian teetotaller, and that's really God for us and most of the Indian community.
"He is shown as drinking wine, eating lamb and looking for a new marketing strategy for himself [and that] is really very insensitive to the community."
This is not the first time MLA has got into hot water over an advertising campaign.
Last year it was referred to the Advertising Standards Board for an ad which featured high-profile newsreader Lee Lin Chin masterminding an operation to bring Australians home for Australia Day so they could eat lamb.
It included a SWAT-style operation where a vegan was "rescued" and his kale blowtorched.
The board found it did not incite violence against vegans.
