UK supermarket Iceland’s Christmas campaign has been banned from television broadcasts after having been deemed to be in breach of political advertising rules.
Iceland’s Christmas advert has been banned fro television for being “too political.”
— The Daily Politik (@DailyPolitik) 10 ноября 2018 г.
This advert by Iceland supermarket was made with Emma Thompson and Greenpeace.
The ad watchdog has decided the ad breaks rules banning political advertising
What do you think? #IcelandAdvert pic.twitter.com/hTyqB1oPuG
On the threshold of the winter festive season, the supermarket reached a deal with Greenpeace and famed actress Emma Thompson, who voiced an animated short film to raise awareness about palm oil growers’ destructive influence on rainforests, including those in Malaysia, which has been suffering from massive habitat loss and thereby threatening the existence of orangutans.
Earlier this year, Iceland became the first major British supermarket to vow to sell its own brand of foods free from palm oil, citing the supermarket not being against the oil itself, but the deforestation that its mass production inevitably entails, according to the son of Iceland’s founder, Richard Walker, who has been championing the discount supermarket’s switch to eco-friendly goods.
“We think this is a huge story that needs to be told. We always knew there was a risk [the clip would not be cleared for TV] but we gave it our best shot,” Richard said.
The supermarket’s management underscored that they had received official permission to “use it and take off the Greenpeace logo and use it as the Iceland Christmas ad,” stressing that “it was so emotional”.
The ad was virtually blocked by Clearcast, the watchdog responsible for approving or, conversely, rejecting ads before they are aired to the public, due to being “directed towards a political end”. The body essentially said that since the commercial had to do with the Greenpeace movement, it didn’t comply with the rules of the 2003 Communications Act, barring political advertising. However, few on the Internet could grasp the ‘political’ context behind the move, expressing certainty there was no reason why it should be rejected, especially in light of the good cause it advertised.
So it's OK for almost all TV ads ever to help fuel biodiversity loss and #climatebreakdown by pushing endless consumerism, but as soon as an ad calls this out, it's deemed political? https://t.co/qFkkQvYJOT
— Friends of the Earth 🌍 (@friends_earth) 9 ноября 2018 г.
“Buying products without palm oil to save forests is a consumer preference issue, not a political one,” one user stated resolutely.
Why was it banned?
— Richie Hayes (@RichieHayes2) 9 ноября 2018 г.
It's a very relevant add. Planting the seed to the next generation on saving our planet.
— Sharon White (@MrsSharonWhite) 9 ноября 2018 г.
It's a lovely ad and it's a very important message also. I can't believe it's been banned
— Mark O'Mahony (@mark_omahony1) 9 ноября 2018 г.
Some stressed this is the type of ad that should be widely promoted:
This is the type of ad we need to see more of
— Mary Kingston (@kinoshea) 10 ноября 2018 г.
Shouldn't be banned. It's the facts that people need to see.
— Roy (@76roy76) 10 ноября 2018 г.
I think it's a brilliant ad, my only hope is that going viral will give it even more coverage. World gone mad
— Andi (@grumpycorkchef) 9 ноября 2018 г.
With this in mind, many opted to repost the clip from the original ad to convey the message from it to the broader public, and calling for others to join efforts:
Please retweet this — hats off to this supermarket for trying…#palmoilfreechristmas
— Hannah (@purplepansy20) 9 ноября 2018 г.
Iceland's Christmas TV advert banned for being too political https://t.co/dzN763LuW2
It's a fantastic ad and so great to see it highlighted. I hope it continues to stay viral and people realise the damage they probably don't even know they are doing to these wonderful animal by using products with palm oil in it. pic.twitter.com/KneyLttpRE
— Mia Cummins (@dhv938d) 10 ноября 2018 г.
Some said that while they had few incentives to visit the said supermarket before, this time they would certainly do so:
Iceland is gonna be my go to supermarket from now on💕
— Dahabo🇸🇴 (@official_dahabo) 10 ноября 2018 г.
The banning of this advert on “political” grounds shows how far the establishment will go to prop up the corporate entities which are rooted in the palm oil industry. There is now a petition on https://t.co/Zt16ghlCt0 to get this ban lifted…. https://t.co/8hlOG77M0b
— John Rodge #PCPEU #GTTO (@Gtr910) 9 ноября 2018 г.
