Is The Heinz Mayo Ad Offensive? No, It’s Just Crap

Apparently the ad you see above for Heinz Deli Mayo has been withdrawn because, according to The Guardian:

viewers complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that it was “offensive” and “inappropriate to see two men kissing”.

In response to the viewers complaints a spokesman for Heinz commented:

It is our policy to listen to consumers. We recognise that some consumers raised concerns over the content of the ad and this prompted our decision to withdraw it

Apparently the reason the man is kissing the American in the chef’s outfit is, according to ad agency AMV BBDO which recently won the Heinz business, because:

the product tastes so good, “It’s as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen.”

To be honest, I don’t think that the ad is offensive.

I do however think it’s confusing (it’s not at all obvious why the strange New Yorker is snogging the English guy) and, essentially, the main problem with the ad is that it’s crap. I don’t see why Heinz felt so worried that they felt that they had to take it off air (especially when it wasn’t being broadcast around childrens’ programmes) and think they may have offended as many people with that decision as they did with the original ad (looks like they have).

But at the end of the day, the main result of all this is that there is one less shit ad on the TV, and that can’t be a bad thing.

UPDATE: The ASA have announced that they wouldn’t be investigating the ad as it’s not offensive. There was no word on whether they thought it was crap.

7 comments

  1. Yeah, it’s a dumb ad, but offensive? Did you move to Kansas when we weren’t watching?

    Seems to be effective, though. I want a sandwich

  2. Just to clarify, I’m not saying it’s offensive – that’s what the people complaining are suggesting, and which Heinz seems to agree with by its decision to take the ad off air, despite not having been told to by the ASA.

  3. Ciaran, are you however suggesting that homosexuality shouldn’t be around children? Should it matter that children see men kissing? Do explain…

  4. I’m not suggesting that, no. Can I understand parents who don’t want to have to explain what it is to a 4 year old over dinner? A bit…

  5. It’s interesting – I read a great post earlier (which I now can’t find) which slated Heinz but also pointed out that of course the whole point is that the ad isn’t about gay couples anyway – it’s a parody of a straight couple. Irony?

  6. It’s not like they’d be talking about a prolapsed colon over dinner, it’s hardly dirty talk. “two blokes kissing, they’re gay, eat your vegetables darling..”

    Anway, I do agree that people are obviously not getting the advert. I just assumed that the deli guy was meant to be the mum, hence why the kids were saying “thanks mum”. Some people eh…

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