28/03/2007

Chewing gum ads caused 'deep offence'

Television commercials for Trident chewing gum have been banned after the industry watchdog deemed them to be offensive to Britain's African Caribbean population.

More than 500 complaints were received by the Advertising Standards Authority about the 'Mastication for the nation' ads, which showed a black man and two white people talking in heavy Caribbean accents.

The ASA said that the commercials had breached advertising rules on offence and harmful stereotypes and caused "deep offence" to a significant minority.

Cadbury's, which makes the chewing gum, said it was disappointed by the decision.

The company said that the ads were intended to be a celebration of dub poets and were meant to portray a humorous gum 'revolution'.

However, Cadbury's also said that it had undertaken consumer research before making the ads and consulted members of the British African Caribbean community, with one in five finding the adverts offensive.

A spokesperson for Cadbury's said: "We would never seek to cause offence to anyone and regret if any member of the public felt this was the case."

(KMcA/JM)


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