But is powerful retelling of World War I moment
really 'offensive'?
Drew Zahn
The date was Dec. 24, 1914 – Christmas Eve.
In the battered trenches of World War I’s
Western Front near Saint-Yvon, Belgium, a crisp, winter wind was wisping away
the scents of gunpowder, smoke and blood.
But on that same breeze, exactly 100 years ago
this Christmas, the British troops, worn and weary in their midnight trenches,
heard a familiar tune come wafting over the battlefield. It was the German
troops, just a few yards away in trenches of their own, singing the traditional
Christmas Carol, “Stille Nacht.” English speakers know the song better as
“Silent Night.”
One by one, the enemy combatants of both armies
rose from their trenches and carefully crossed into “no-man’s land,” an
unexpected and uneasy truce beginning to form.
As dawn broke that Christmas Day, the men who
only the day before sought to slay one another were exchanging gifts and
engaging in a friendly game of football upon the deadly battlefield.
In a retelling of this amazing true story, the
United Kingdom’s third biggest supermarket, Sainsbury’s – together with the
Royal British Legion and the ad agency AMV BBDO – created a moving
advertisement depicting that holy night and fictionalizing a gift of a
chocolate bar from a British to a German soldier.
Sainsbury’s now sells that vintage-looking
candy bar in its stores, with half the purchase price donated to the Royal
British Legion charity.
But using the famous World War I story to
promote a grocery store, many have argued, was a dirty trick. Hundreds of
complaints poured in to the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority claiming the
ad “offensive” or claiming it was “misleading” for not immediately revealing
itself to be an advertisement.
The U.K.s advertising regulator, however, has
now announced it has no plans to launch an investigation, much less ban the
advertisement.
According to a Business Insider report, the
Advertising Standards Authority has heard the complaints and is closing the
case.
In a statement the U.K. ad watchdog explained,
“While we recognize that some have found the use of the First World War for
advertising purposes to be distasteful, the ad is not likely to break the rules
surrounding harm or offense. We also considered that the ad is obviously
distinguishable from editorial content and is therefore not likely to mislead.”
The advertisement has now been seen nearly 13
million times on YouTube, and Sainsbury’s told Marketing Week earlier this
month it was selling 5,000 of the chocolate bars every hour.
The controversial advertisement can be seen
below:
WND,
November 30, 2014
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário
Não publicamos comentários de anônimos/desconhecidos.
Por favor, se optar por "Anônimo", escreva o seu nome no final do comentário.
Não use CAIXA ALTA, (Não grite!), isto é, não escreva tudo em maiúsculas, escreva normalmente. Obrigado pela sua participação!
Volte sempre!
Abraços./-