PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD, December 5, 2002: Faced with the threat of a boycott, Angostura Ltd. has pulled a two-page advertisement from the Trinidad Express, after the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha complained it was inappropriate. The ad was promoting the company’s “Spirit of Christmas, The Divine Child” exhibit, and included various religious images, from Jesus Christ to Lord Krishna. The references appeared alongside pictures of Angostura’s rums. Maha Sabha Secretary General Sat Maharaj wrote to Angostura and described the ad as “a shameless act designed to show the Hindu God Krishna subliminally endorsing alcoholic products.” Maharaj asked for an apology from Angostura and threatened to organize a national “boycott of all Angostura products.” “Our religion and our concept of God must not be used to sell alcohol,” Maharaj said. President of the Inter-Religious Organization, Bro. Noble Khan, supported the Maha Sabha’s position. “Advertisers of goods and services should not create an element of distaste and disgust in promoting their products,” Khan said in a telephone interview. Angostura agreed to withdraw the ad, and Chief Operating Officer Godfrey Bain wrote the Maha Sabha saying, “We sincerely apologize for any discomfort which our advertisements in today’s Express may have caused yourself and the wider Hindu Community. We regret this most profoundly.”
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