150 ft Tall Jesus Statue Used By Sports Gambling Company for Soccer World Cup Campaign in Australia; Sparks Outrage (PHOTO)

A mock version of the famous Christ The Redeemer statue in Brazil is causing a stir because of a marketing campaign that featured a blow up version of the statue advertising the FIFA World Cup. Politicians and business executives are outraged.

A hot air balloon in the form of Christ the Redeemer is being used to advertise the FIFA World Cup by floating over Melbourne and Rev Costello, and the chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce is not happy. Costello told Yahoo! Australia, that the act is against the principles Jesus stood for. The Jesus balloon was seen wearing an Australian soccer jersey donning the Sportsbet logo and the slogan #KEEPTHEFAITH, while floating in the air.

"There seems to be no corporate or civic responsibility to say 'hang on, is nothing sacred?'" Rev Costello said.

"One of the great statues in Rio is Jesus, and Brazil is a Catholic nation that takes its faith seriously and its football fanatically," Costello continued. "You don't exploit those things that are sacred to people simply for your own advertising reach and I think that soccer as a world game should be sensitive to that and certainly express their disdain for these types of advertisements."

Sportsbet spokesman Matthew Campbell told Yahoo! Australia, that the advertisement is less about gambling and more so about supporting the Socceroos. The balloon is 53 feet taller than the real statue that stands on top the Corcovado Mountain in Rio. An Australian online gambling website said the balloon is 151-foot tall.


Campbell explained the company expected some criticism but stood by its marketing campaign.

"We realize that some people are entitled to their opinions, but from our point of view with over half a million followers on social media, we think we're talking to the right people and those people might have a different opinion," he said.

"It's not actually about having a bet; it's about rallying the troops behind the Socceroos, who are massive underdogs," Campbell continued."It's a balloon replica of a famous statue that is used extensively to promote the World Cup.You can't turn on the TV promotion without them showing Christ the Redeemer all the time.

He went on to say, "All we've done is bring it to Australia and give it a Socceroos flavor."

Rev Costello has called on the sport's governing body Football Federation Australia (FFA) to speak out against the campaign.