This page plots a pretty comprehensive history of the campaign so far.

Much has been said about the wording of the slogan “There’s probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life”. I think it’s great as it is. But the function of the advert as a tool of persuasion, or even a spreader of the seeds of doubt, is of secondary importance. The status of the advert as the first public advert for atheism puts it in a special position.

It retrospect it looks like the success of the campaign (so far) was contingent on two things:

1. It had to be a message unmistakably coming from the perspective of non-belief.
2. It had to be a message that as many non-believers as possible would feel comfortable supporting.

I think that the inclusion of 'Probably’ in the slogan helps a great deal with the second point; I suspect that it’s often easier for an advocate of strong atheism to support a message which reflects a weaker statement of their belief (at least while atheism in general is underrepresented in the media) than it is for a weak atheist to support a statement of strong atheism.

I think that the advert:

• Acts as a rallying issue for non-believers and doubters, it’s an emboldening reminder that they are not alone.
• Signals to politicians that atheists are a politically important group.
• Is an example to atheists that it is possible to successfully mount group actions, despite the wide range of views that atheists hold.

I’m looking forward to seeing these ads run in 2009.

Posted: October 27th 2008

See all questions answered by bitbutter

Here’s the website.

It’s a campaign by the British Humanist Association to adorn buses with the message, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

The original aim was to have it on the sides of London buses for a month. The fundraising has been so successful (over 100,000 sterling rather than the original target of 11,000) that it will now extend to the inside of the buses and eventually outside of London. (Since the head of regional bus advertising is a devout Christian, they may have to switch to billboards.)

There was a great deal of concern over the word “probably” by many contributors. It was necessary to stay within advertising rules; making an authoritative statement could be construed as possible false advertising. Also, it avoids comebacks along the lines of, “How can you be certain?”

Watch for it if you’re in London.

Posted: October 25th 2008

See all questions answered by SmartLX