Antonio Federici has had another controversial press advert banned – this time featuring two male priests about to kiss.

The Advertising Standards Authority said the ad, which appeared in Look magazine, was likely to serious offence to some readers. One of the priests was clutching rosary beads and a spoon, while the other held a tub of the controversy-courting ice cream.

The watchdog said the ad, which featured the slogan ‘We believe in salivation’, could be interpreted as mocking the Catholic Church.

However, the ice cream maker said it meant to raise serious issues facing contemporary Catholicism and insisted it would continue to use religious imagery in its advertising.

A previous press ad by Antonio Federici involving a pregnant nun was banned by the ASA earlier this year, while an ad last year posited a nun and a priest sharing a moment of passion (pictured).

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