Indonesian Islamic Group Criticizes Alcohol Ad Using Quranic Verse

An Indonesian Islamic organization has strongly criticized a marketing campaign that offered alcoholic beverages as a prize for memorizing a verse from the Quran. The Persatuan Ummat Islam (PUI) deemed the promotion for Newport brand beverages, featured at The Sounds Project music festival, as a careless and avoidable marketing misstep.

Raizal Arifin, Chairman of PUI, emphasized that marketing creativity has limits, especially when it involves religious symbols and teachings held sacred by the community. "We need to differentiate between creativity and mockery," Arifin stated. "Creativity does not mean freely treating anything as promotional material. When a Quranic verse is placed in the context of promoting alcoholic beverages, the limit of propriety becomes a serious issue."

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We need to differentiate between creativity and mockery. Creativity does not mean freely treating anything as promotional material. When a Quranic verse is placed in the context of promoting alcoholic beverages, the limit of propriety becomes a serious issue.

Arifin argued that such issues should be prevented during the campaign planning stage, requiring creative teams and management to possess adequate sensitivity to social, religious, and cultural contexts before releasing any communication material. "A mistake in creating promotional material should not be perceived as a form of mockery towards religion. If there was no intention to insult, it is important for the company to immediately provide an explanation and take the necessary steps," he added.

PUI views this matter not merely as a product promotion controversy but as a significant lesson for the business world regarding responsibility in public communication. The organization noted that the incident, where the recitation of holy verses was inappropriately juxtaposed with a forbidden product, highlights that commercial messages must respect the values, beliefs, and norms of the broader community, not just target consumers.

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A mistake in creating promotional material should not be perceived as a form of mockery towards religion. If there was no intention to insult, it is important for the company to immediately provide an explanation and take the necessary steps.