Offending the Brits, Easier Than You Thought

There's indecent, and then there's flat out obscene; Janet Jackson's naked breast on network television is one thing, but defiling Churchill the cartoon bulldog? That's just offensive.

According to the U.K.'s Daily Star (not the arbiter of newsworthy reporting, we admit), a "furor" has erupted over a recent TV ad for Churchill Insurance, in which the company's beloved cartoon dog appears to utter the word "fuck" at the end of his signature catchphrase, "Ohhh yes!"

See how the tables have turned! The typically soft-on-indecency Brits get bent out of shape about expletives, while their rather more puritanical cousins in the U.S. smack down an F.C.C. indecency fine for the second time in a year.

You can see the ad for yourself (and read the debate) here. We get that Brits love Winston Churchill, and we get that they love bulldogs, but after viewing the clip, we still find the accusation to be a bit of a stretch.

by Liz Gunnison