A television commercial showing baby Jesus Christ throwing the gifts presented by the three wise men was branded by Christians as 'offensive' and 'tacky'.
Both the Sydney Anglican and Catholic Church voiced their disapproval of the ad produced by Beta Electrical, telling a News Ltd. paper that it was 'absurd' and 'inappropriate.'
As Christmas is less than a week away, the commercialisation of Christmas has also been attacked by the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr. Philip Freier, who sounded an ominous warning, saying the bombardment of advertising which targets children comes at a price.
In a Youtube video clip, Dr. Freier said many parents felt powerless to halt the constant stream of sexualised and violent images to children which is having a detrimental impact on them as they see it.
"Many parents feel powerless to protect their children from this constant stream of sexualised and violent images," Dr Freier says.
"Children have a right to their childhood, but we are stealing it away. The result is children obsessing about their body image and fashion, and young people becoming caught up in a culture of sex, drugs and violence."
Dr Freier is urging everyone to support his call for a national inquiry into the state of childhood.