Beanz Meanz Banz!!!!

[sp1814]

So the new Heinz mayonnaise advert has been banned after ITV received 200 complaints.

Viewers said the commercial was "offensive", "inappropriate" and "unsuitable to be seen by children".

Whilst the advert has been discussed at length on a previous thread, I have to ask - was it over the top and insensitive, and do you think Heinz were right to withdraw it?

[Quinlad]

Never ever underestimate the stupidity of the British public.

Saying that (on a related note), there is absolutely no need for Pampers and their ilk to show the naked bottoms of babies on their adverts.

Sexualising infants for the cheap titillation of dangerous child botherers is wholly inappropriate. And certainly not necessary.

A great many of my friends and family have seen the adverts for Pampers (and similar products) and, as a direct result, almost 30 of them have become paedophiles.

[sp1814]

888sally888 - I'm glad someone else read it that way.

I finally saw the advert on YouTube and thought, "But that's not a gay kiss...the whole joke is that the mum is replaced by this New York deli owner...and the final kiss is just the joke's pay off".

It would've been a 'gay kiss' if it were two men who were obviously in a relationship...but I didn't read it that way.

It's good that it's got people talking though, even if, as I suspect that wasn't the advertisers initial intention.

[sp1814]

On a positive note - that advert drewb 200 complaints which is nothing really when you think that 40 years ago (within my own lifetime), you could go to jail for being gay.

I think that the UK's progress is pretty flipping amazing.

[jno]

agreed, sp... but the truth is, the ad would have been banned 40 years ago and it's been banned now. There is still some way to go.

[Gromit]

It has not been banned by anyone. Heinz say they will not show it again (voluntarily).

Cynics would say it has done its job and got Heinz oodles of free publicity and made the product a talking point, so no need for Heinz to spend any more money broadcasting it.

[China Doll]

Is that it?! Christ I was at least expecting tongues and a cheeky bum pinch.... I thought it was very funny.

I actually think the products in question are unnecessary and look revolting but I can't believe that's what all the fuss was about.

There's worse shown on MTV/Smash Hits etc...

(Cheers Jno)

[stokemaveric]

common sense prevails at last......................

[jno]

I think that counts as a ban nonetheless, Gromit. While some advertisers do seek cheap publicity with outrageous advertising, I don't think Heinz is among them normally - I suspect this will have come as a surprise to them. (I could be wrong, of course.) A perfectly good ad stopped in its tracks by homophobes.

[Gromit]

jno

It is a new agency, making its mark, quietly impresses client.

"The TV ad is the first by Heinz's new ad agency AMV BBDO since it won the �10m-a-year UK business last year."

[LoftyLottie]

Why should adverts always show the 'norm' Steve 5. And what is the norm? We all differ from the norm in some way. Should we not show ultra short people, ultra tall people, disabled people, etc, etc., etc. in adverts?

The advert anyway was not about people being gay.

I am always very dubious about people who get so worked up about homosexuality.

[LoftyLottie]

Sorry Steve that last sentence was not aimed at you.

[naomi24]

Sounds like it took some adults quite a while to get the joke, so I wonder how many children got it? No doubt it's been profitable publicity for Heinz though.

[Booldawg]

dissapointing. The way it was ramped up on here I was expecting to see some hot twinkie action. I'm off to watch Bravo now.

[LoftyLottie]

Naomi, I would think any children who took any notice of it would be old enough to see it as a joke. Any younger children would probably not even take any of it in. What a lot of fuss about absolutely nothing.

[Whickerman]

Fair dues to Heinz.

Not for being ridiculous and taking off an inoffensive advert, nor being ridiculous enough to pander to the whim of 200 idiots (what about the tens of thousands who didn't find it shocking?), but for creating an advert that any ad exec in the world would know would be pulled, and get every tabloid mentioning it, and people in work chatting about the ad, the censorship, and most of all, everyone mentioning the product! No such thing as bad publicity and all that.

[naomi24]

Some of the adults here didn't see the joke, Lottie, so why expect children to? It's just a clever ploy by Heinz to get people talking - and it's worked.

[Supernick]

Just seen it for the first time. Parents complaining about that as unsuitable for their children is crazy.

Mind you it's probably the same parents who packed little Johnny off to bed where he can watch McDonalds adverts, and soft core porn music videos on MTV all night long, safe in the knowledge that he's never going to become 'one of those gayers'.

[LoftyLottie]

I am amazed that any reasonably intelligent adults didn't get it naomi and would expect children of 10 plus to see the joke as well. Children are often just as perceptive, if not more perceptive than adults, in my opinion. I have worked with kids and they know more than we give them credit for. It would all go over the heads of very young children. I have seen men kissing each other full on the lips in jest, anyway. There were absolutely no sexual undertones at all.

Yes, it's a clever ad and that can only be good for Heinz. Good luck to them.