This Heinz Deli Mayo ad comes in at No. 4 in the total number of complaints received by Britain's Advertising Standards Authority, which received 26,433 complaints about 15,556 ads. This ad snagged 215 of 'em, beating out the Department of Health's anti-smoking ad (which featured kids smoking crayons) but lost to the No. 1 ad, a domestic abuse PSA (which showed a young girl being beaten repeatedly).
Smiling Bigot Mike Huckabee Worries Gay Marriage Will Destroy Kids’ Minds (20)
· hyhybt says: #2: Polyamory is different than polygamy, at least as usually practiced. One is a... »
· WillBFair says: AndrewW, False historical comparisons are sly ways to get us to stay with failed... »
Will Uganda’s President Have to Answer for His Gay Hate Bill? … Taylor Lautner’s BF?! (6)
· Trip says: Gay? Maybe. But my bet’s on retarde-er, developmentally disabled. That guy has the... »
ABC’s Ridiculous Policy to Ban ‘Controversial’ Adam Lambert From Daytime Airwaves (99)
· Jason says: Sorry but Adam is an idiot and set the cause back. It’s not about the kiss,... »
Which Maybe-Gay Actor Maintains His Celebrity Relationship for His Career? (25)
· Jason says: Taylor and Taylor of Zack Efron. Lautner and Zefron would be a hot couple! »
Taylor Lautner on Rolling Stone Will Be Sexier Than Levi Johnston on Playgirl (26)
· Jason says: Gay and on roids for sure »
The Most Touching Video About Marriage Equality Love We’ve Seen (18)
· Chris says: lol Who drinks water out of a wine glass? »
Virginia + Maryland’s Governors Are Catholic. And They’re Furious With the Church’s Threats (29)
· 1EqualityUSA says: Boys, Boys, to your rooms! It’s Thanksgiving. Let’s be thankful that... »
· 1EqualityUSA says: Dear Naghanenu, It’s good to talk. People out there might believe that... »
· B Stupid says: Look for more copy+paste brilliance. B Smart looking. »
Lol, that was awesome, I'd love to see more stuff like this in the states.
There are organised groups of christians who have a sustained campaign anytime anything gay appears on the TV.
Actually rumour had it at the time that the American Family Organisation had orchestrated it. But I suspect that was just another attempt at 'let's blame everything on the Americans'.
Either way, 215 people complained about the ad; 16,000 signed my petition to bring it back: http://www.petitiononline.com/......cgi?heinz
I think I can rest happy on this one :)
@Tallskin: No shit, Sherlock.
That was a delightful advertisement. If I liked mayo, I would consider purchasing their brand. Effectiveness!
@Steff: Were you ultimately successful? It seems, given the numbers, that you should have been.
Deli mayo? That's an oxymoron. Seriously, I think I just had aneurysm reading those two words together. DELI MAYO! …goys.
@Alec:
Well, they refused to re-instate the ad; by this point it had been splashed across the UK press for a couple of days so they got a healthy dosage of free advertising out of it. So I guess not.
There was something of a "Don't buy Heinz" campaign that seemed to be pretty well-followed, but whether or not the whole escapade made a dent in their profits we'll never know.
It still remains a bit of a smear on what was otherwise a well-respected company though.
I don't get the ad.
Why is he wearing a deli outfit.
The idea is that the man in the deli outfit is actually woman — the mum of the family.
@Celo: Because he's a New York deli guy (as seen through British eyes with a delightfully bad American accent). The mayo evidently makes Mum's sandwiches more like…um…New York ones. Apparently we in the U.S. are head and shoulders over the Brits in terms of sandwich technology.
From Terry Pratchett: "[Americans] had a different idea about sandwiches. Sandwiches had been sold back in the Store's Food Hall. The word meant something thin between two slices of damp bread. Floridian sandwiches, on the other hand, filled up an entire tray, and if there was any bread, it lurked deep in a jungle of cress and lettuce."