Member Article

bgroup receives Papal advice

A Newcastle creative company has had to rethink its latest campaign after receiving a friendly warning from the Vatican.

Creative agency bgroup, parent company of bdaily, has recently undergone a company-wide rebranding as part of its seventh birthday celebrations. Part of the seventh anniversary rebrand included the planned launch ofa new ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ campaign. However, they have now been contacted by a representative of Pope Benedict XVI to remind them that the Catholic Church’s definition of the Seven Deadly Sins has recently changed.

In preparation for the campaign, bgroup’s creative team consulted local theological experts in order to gain a better understanding of the sins of greed, lust, wrath, pride, sloth, gluttony, and envy.

Simon Wilson, Head of Creative at bgroup, said: “We thought it would be a good idea to get an expert’s perspective on the history and background of the Seven Deadly Sins before starting work on the campaign. Unfortunately for us, someone we spoke to must have mentioned our plans to a member of the Church, and the whole thing just spiralled.”

On 9 March, the Vatican published a list of seven new deadly sins, updated for the 21st century. These “social sins” include environmental pollution, genetic manipulation, and morally debatable experiments. Three weeks later, bgroup received a letter from the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican body which oversees confessions and plenary indulgences, reminding them that their campaign would now not be in line with the revised Seven Deadly Sins. You can see the letter at bdaily.info/images/vatican.jpg (we’ve had to black out most of the text for legal reasons).

Siobhan Bales, Managing Director of bgroup, said: “It’s just a case of bad timing. If the Vatican had made their announcement next year, there wouldn’t have been any confusion! The Pope’s representatives were very nice about it - all they wanted to do was remind us that our work might not be in line with the new definition of the Seven Deadly Sins.

“We’re not worried though. bgroup’s team have put a lot of work into this campaign, and everyone is very impressed with the results. We’ll be running the Seven Sins campaign soon, and everyone will be able to see it for themselves.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .