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Post by Steven on Jun 24, 2008 22:48:58 GMT
If they'd had a woman morph into the deli man at the beginning, they could have avoided all this trouble. And then back to the woman when he puts the horrible mayonnaise with lumps in back in the fridge. I always thought it would've made more sense if it had been a woman speaking with the gruff deli man's voice, but then there wouldn't have been all this controversy and fewer people would know this product exists. I wonder if this ad actually did sell that much mayonnaise.
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Post by Robbing the Dead on Jun 24, 2008 22:52:27 GMT
200 complaints may be a lot when compared to what other ads get, but it's not a completely negligle figure when you think how many people saw it and enjoyed it / didn't enjoy it but still weren't bothered enough to make a complaint.
And surely Heinz pulling it is just gonna annoy all the gays. I think we should boycott Heinz.
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Post by DaphneMoon on Jun 25, 2008 9:34:39 GMT
Phone-in on 5live now - can't believe this has caused so much controversy. Apparently there's a petition to get it reinstated and the guy from Stonewall is advocating a ban of Heinz products. Is it even a "gay" kiss? . As one caller sensibly pointed out two men kissing does not equal gay - I refer you to the Euro footie and indeed the whole of France.
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Post by Robbing the Dead on Jun 25, 2008 9:50:27 GMT
It's not a gay kiss really because the Deli man is supposed to be a mum anyway. It's hardly a kiss, it's a quick closed mouth peck. And also they aren't being presented as a gay couple.
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fused
Su Pollard
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Post by fused on Jun 25, 2008 10:39:03 GMT
I agree with those who suspect that this whole controversy was planned from the start.
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Post by Adrian on Jun 25, 2008 11:35:07 GMT
I don't know. Sure it's getting the Heinz brandname out, but I think it's potentially more damaging PR than not... it's not PR which says 'you should buy this product'.
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Post by Steven on Jun 25, 2008 12:10:24 GMT
As one caller sensibly pointed out two men kissing does not equal gay - I refer you to the Euro footie and indeed the whole of France. Or Italy, for that matter.
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Post by Robbing the Dead on Jun 25, 2008 13:01:04 GMT
I agree with those who suspect that this whole controversy was planned from the start. And if that's true then that's even worse behaviour from Heinz; cashing in on homophobia.
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Post by Intoxicated In Cockermouth on Jun 25, 2008 14:01:24 GMT
This whole controversy is pre-meditated. They know that they'll get some people applauding it for its "modern" take on relationships, and then they'll get the Daily Express and Daily Mail brigade pouring scorn on it. I think either way it was going to cause controversy, and controversy causes cash!
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Chris
Jane Asher
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Post by Chris on Jun 25, 2008 14:24:41 GMT
But isn't that all true of everything on tv with gay content (/"gay content") though? That some people will complain, and some people will applaud the piece for "pushing things forward". It doesn't necessarily follow that everything gay on tv was created solely for reasons of controversy.
And surely the point of "controversy creates cash" is that some people will hate something, but the other side both "loving it" and wanting to "stick it to the haters" drives revenue higher? Not that the company in question makes a digusting fudge of a compromise that pisses everyone off?
This seems to me like a cutesy half-thought out idea turned into a confusing fudge of an advert (indeed produced by somebody well-meaning but dense like Lucinda Ledgerwood), and then the company cravenly caving to idiotic bigots, not a grand plan to get everyone talknig about Heinz mayonnaise.
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Post by Intoxicated In Cockermouth on Jun 25, 2008 14:49:30 GMT
I totally agree Chris.
I think it was an ad campaign created to be a bit shocking, but never intended to be more controversial than perhaps a Benny Hill sketch or Seaside Postcard.
I think the crux of the matter is, that this is quite a contentious issue based on an advert that perhaps wasn't meant to raise contentious issues.
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fused
Su Pollard
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Post by fused on Jun 25, 2008 15:07:20 GMT
This seems to me like a cutesy half-thought out idea turned into a confusing fudge of an advert (indeed produced by somebody well-meaning but dense like Lucinda Ledgerwood), and then the company cravenly caving to idiotic bigots, not a grand plan to get everyone talknig about Heinz mayonnaise. Yes, I think you're probably right. I suppose I just think that all the fuss it has caused seems a bit ridiculous.
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Mr Kenneth
Jane Asher
Hang on! Twenty-six planets? Innumerable Daleks? I make that Pimm's O' Clock!
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Post by Mr Kenneth on Jun 25, 2008 16:00:21 GMT
Well I said when I created this thread that this ad gave me a funny feeling in my tummy and now I know why. My tummy is obviously sensitive to impending controversy! Who knew?
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Post by Intoxicated In Cockermouth on Jun 25, 2008 16:25:20 GMT
If we're honest, this advert is about as controversial as when Emmerdale tries to be controversial and blows up Dawn and Noreen. Or summink.
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emma
Jane Asher
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Post by emma on Jun 25, 2008 17:24:11 GMT
Taken from a thread on another board for your convenience: Basically, I think it's outrageous that Heinz have immediately pandered to 200 reactionary arseholes. If you agree, I urge you to sign this www.petitiononline.com/heinz or even directly contact Nigel Dickie, the "spokesman for Heinz UK" who apologised for "causing offence":
Nigel Dickie Director of UK Corporate and Government Affairs E-mail: Nigel.Dickie@uk.hjheinz.com And boycott Heinz!
(Please.)They're not happy campers on the rest of the intartubez, it seems. Moderation note: I've removed the telephone numbers from this post - he's probably turned them off anyway, and I'm not sure being party to a fairly dumb publicity stunt means he deserves to have furious random gays calling him up at all hours of the day and night.
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Post by Adrian on Jun 26, 2008 9:06:56 GMT
This seems to me like a cutesy half-thought out idea turned into a confusing fudge of an advert (indeed produced by somebody well-meaning but dense like Lucinda Ledgerwood), and then the company cravenly caving to idiotic bigots, not a grand plan to get everyone talknig about Heinz mayonnaise. I'd add "sold to the UK office who thought let's go with it", and then the global head office waded in, got scared and pulled the plug.
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Post by Steven on Jul 3, 2008 11:35:36 GMT
The ASA is not going to investigate the ad: www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/02/advertising2The quote from Heinz US is kind of gross, though: I'd be interested to hear how releasing that statement aligns with their "longstanding corporate policy of respecting everyone's rights and values". It doesn't appear to respect mine.
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Post by Adrian on Jul 3, 2008 12:25:06 GMT
Incidentally, the subject title here is wrong, as the ad apparently was not broadcastable before watershed due to the fatty content of mayonnaise.
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Chris
Jane Asher
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Post by Chris on Jul 3, 2008 13:04:28 GMT
I thought the whole "no food that is full of shit" ruling just applied to adverts around kids programmes? So the ad could still be shown pre-watershed, just not near any of the erm... no kids programmes on commercial channels.
I am offcially sick of "values".
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Post by Steven on Jul 3, 2008 13:18:46 GMT
NNK (Not Near Kids), to the best of my recollection, applies to children's programming and mainstream programming that is known to have a high percentage of young viewers (I forget the exact amount, it's a while since I had to worry about this sort of thing). So it can apply to things outside of a general kids' programming zone like Coronation Street, but something like, say, Channel 4 News which is, I should imagine, not generally watched by many children, would be allowed to show the ad.
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Post by Adrian on Jul 3, 2008 17:25:10 GMT
Of course you are both correct.
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Post by Joel on Jul 3, 2008 18:32:22 GMT
I'm finally pissed off about this now.
How fucking DARE they talk about respecting rights and values? My right to be gay doesn't count then? Or the values of people who want gay people to be treated decently?
The advert isn't evern supposed to be gay, but they've turned it into a gay issue and ballsed it up hugely.
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Post by Ugly Netty on Jul 3, 2008 18:46:59 GMT
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Post by Muinimula on Jul 3, 2008 19:45:13 GMT
"I thought you might be interested in seeing the Heinz ad featuring a homosexual family and two homosexuals kissing."
This amuses me greatly. Can we visit the American Family Association for a jolly holiday?
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Post by SweatShop on Jul 3, 2008 20:03:16 GMT
And of course Heinz were never going to show the ad in the US. They know it'd provoke this reaction. What they didn't know is that the ad would be protested against by people in the US even when it was only airing in the UK.
This as well: "The ad was intended to be humorous and was not intended to be an advocacy ad," said Mullen (heinz guy) in an email statement to MediaGuardian.co.uk.
Yeah, it was intended to laugh at the gays! Not advocate their behaviour!
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