Red Bull and the Fourth Wise Man

Earlier this year, Miller Brewing Company sponsored the Folsom Street Fair, the world's largest leather event. A promotional poster for the fair, including Miller's logo, mocked Christianity by depicting a leather version of The Last Supper.

Miller moved quickly to acknowledge that its logo should not have appeared on the offensive poster, although it moved at a snail's pace to issue an apology to Christians.

Here's another advertisement that disrespects the Christian faith, this one by Red Bull:

ROME (Reuters) -- An angry Italian priest has persuaded soft drinks company Red Bull to withdraw an advertisement setting its product in a nativity scene on the grounds it is disrespectful to Christianity.

Father Marco Damanti, from Sicily, wrote to the makers of the caffeinated energy drink denouncing their commercial as "a blasphemous act" and said on Monday he had received a prompt reply promising to remove it from Italian television.

The advert depicted four wise men, instead of three, visiting Mary and the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The fourth wise man bore a can of the soft drink.

"The image of the sacred family has been represented in a sacrilegious way," Father Damanti told Corriere della Sera. "Whatever the ironic intentions of Red Bull, the advert pokes fun at the nativity, and at Christian sensitivity."

The priest also objected to the company's slogan, "Red Bull gives you wings," said by angels in the animated advert.

I haven't seen that ad here, but I zone out during commercials. It may have aired on American TV.

Red Bull used poor judgment in adding a caffeinated fourth wise man to the nativity. (Maybe the advertising execs drink too much Red Bull.) The potential of offending Christians with the ad was high.

With the widespread secularization of Christmas, I don't know why Red Bull didn't add another reindeer to Santa's sleigh team instead of messing with a scene of Christ's birth.

Of course, Red Bull's advertising is meant to be edgy. Mocking Christianity is a way to get noticed. The controversy probably gives Red Bull as much or more publicity than the ad itself. At least, it was promptly pulled off the air in Italy.

To my knowledge, Christians haven't called for the creators of the Red Bull fourth wise man ad to be jailed. I don't think thousands left their churches armed with clubs and knives and protested in the streets, demanding that the creators be executed for disrespecting Christianity.

I'm quite confident that didn't happen.