The
image of a sexy black angel advertising a liquorice-flavoured
nicotine chewing gum has prompted an apology from the
ad agency responsible for the campaign.
Euro RSCG Life, the agency behind
the offending Nicotinell chewing gum posters, said they
had been printed in "error", in a move not
authorised by the brand-owner, Novartis Consumer Health
UK.
Novartis has issued a hasty recall
of some of its Nicotinell posters and Euro RSCG Life
said it apologised for this "regrettable incident".
The posters feature three pouting angels
dressed in strappy frocks, high heels, and fluffy wings
overpowering a devil, who represents nicotine cravings.
Each of the models represents a different
Nicotinell flavour - mint, fruit and liquorice - and
the posters carry the strapline, "You can beat
cravings."
In posters spotted by a MediaGuardian.co.uk
reader at Westminster and Waterloo tube stations in
London, the black angel is clearly promoting the liquorice-flavoured
gum, wearing a purple dress that matches the flavour.
But on other posters the black angel's
dress is red, matching the fruit flavour, while the
fiery redhead angel wears a purple dress.
Patrick Brindle, the managing director
of Euro RSCG Life, said the agency experimented with
a number of creative images and the wrong ones were
displayed.
"Unfortunately it now seems that
some of the experimental versions were retained by the
printers and printed by them in error. They were then
displayed by mistake without the knowledge and authority
of Novartis Consumer Health UK," he added.
"Certain poster adverts that are
now showing at specific locations at a number of London
Underground stations were not authorised for publication.
"The mistake was drawn to the
attention of Novartis Consumer Health UK which has taken
immediate steps to remove all incorrect posters as soon
as reasonably practicable. We apologise for this regrettable
incident."
One of the posters was still visible
on the platform at Bethnal Green underground station
on Monday.
Emma Pierre-Joseph, a spokeswoman for
Ligali, an African-British media monitoring group, said
the posters were offensive.
"In our opinion it is more than
a coincidence that the African model was aligned with
the liquorice product," she said.
"The specific positioning of the
African model in the advert is deliberately used to
malign certain physical characteristics associated with
her racial identity. The attempt at parodying an African
woman as the 'black liquorice girl' is clearly offensive
and we are quite frankly surprised that Nicotinell have
taken this approach."
She added that representations of African
people in advertisements over the decades had improved
only slightly.
"With adverts like the current
Ariel ad featuring a young boy in his 'uncomfortable'
grass attire who races home to put on his 'nice' smooth
western clothing, there is clearly still much room for
improvement," she said.
Ms Pierre-Joseph also criticised the
2003 Land Rover advertisement, featuring members of
the Kenyan Masai tribe forming the shape of a Land Rover,
which she said along with the slogan "See it in
the flesh" conjured up images of enslaved Africans
being paraded and sold.
Return to Press
Cuttings index
|
