UK ads watchdog bans Burger King Twitter jibe for condoning chucking milkshakes at politicians Heart-attack-in-a-bun purveyor Burger King has been given a stern talking to by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for supposedly encouraging antisocial behaviour. Cast your minds back to the European election trail of May 2019, when a clutch of angry Brits decided that throwing milkshakes at politicians would be a …
So businesses are being harangued by government agencies. Not for encouraging "anti-social" behaviour, but because their product might be used for anti-social behaviour.
Seems to me the politicians are just trying to insulate themselves from criticism, regardless of whether it is deserved or not. That's from the North Korean playbook.
"Attacking politicians for campaigning in an election is seriously out of fucking order, and if you support it then you are too."
It's chucking a milkshake over them, they don't end up in hospital. And it generally only happens to those people whose own supporters actually do put people in hospital.
In a democracy with free speech, attacking the opposition with anything other than words is a tactical error; it draws attention to the muppet and creates sympathy, while hardening the resolve of their supporters as the oppressed underdogs/victims. Even if said muppet is cynically exploiting fear/prejudice/etc to advance their cause.
It's a mistake to focus on the singer, not the song.
Also, total waste of a milkshake.
If you don't live in a democracy with free speech, however, milky beverages are not going to work. Hong Kong Add Oil!
You forgot one of the best throwing-things-at-politicians incidents. Which is the time Steven Joyce, NZ's Minister for Economic Development, got clobbered by a genitalia-resembling pink rubber adult toy. There's video on the interwebs and everything.
New Zealand. Showing the world how political inter^H^H^H^H^H discourse should be done since 1893.
Icon because Paris, fnar fnar etc, obviously.
politicians everywhere are getting a bit sensitive and what to be treated like royals of old.
They should be thankful it's not headsmen lopping off rather than something creamy lobbed at, the way some are pushing populist support rhetoric - with the country already deeply divided over an issue - it's is deeply foolish or even intentionally so to exacerbate the problem with incendiary speech.
They say there is no such thing as bad publicity.. and this thing has kept BK in the news without having to spend a penny..
Marketing is a fickle thing, they never worry about long-term - I bet their social media team got a fat bonus, the boss got promoted, and the person who suggested this has it highlighted on his/her/confused CV!
"You could've just put 'their' and not been a dick."
Right on. In fact why stop there! How dare he call them a 'person'? They might wish to identify as a trolley bin, frog spawn etc, and restricting them to being a 'person' is an assault on their basic rights as an entity.
As long as BK act contrite, I suspect that the number of people in BK's target market that approved of the tongue in cheek remarks would have been close to 100%. And as for market share, in a mature, stable market, altering it by a few percentage points for a month or two is the best you can hope for.
Just because Twitter complains about something doesn't mean the complainers make any real difference.
Similarly people who complain to the ASA - having your complaint upheld doesn't mean the message hasn't already got across and been approved by the audience, regardless of the outcome.
When you can be convicted of threatening behaviour for referring to a female MP as a "Nazi" then to the "authorities" a joke is criminal (heck the Dankula thing already proved that) s well as this being an "equal" society, but should you dare to use uncouth language towards a lady then the system will come down on you like a tonne of bricks....double standard as usual....Corbyn caused a firestorm by calling May a Stupid Woman, yet myriads of female politicians use far worse language about men every single day and are lauded as "fierce", "empowered" "powerful" when in fact most of them are misandrist bigots to the core.
MPs demand respect, while shovelling shit down our necks and then act like the victim when their lying is pointed out and go wailing to the media about people being so rude and mean to them (The SNP (members of both genders) and Labour (female MPs) being prime offenders for this)
"When you can be convicted of threatening behaviour for referring to a female MP as a "Nazi" then to the "authorities" a joke is criminal (heck the Dankula thing already proved that) s well as this being an "equal" society, but should you dare to use uncouth language towards a lady then the system will come down on you like a tonne of bricks....double standard as usual.."
So...you feel threatened by women then?
"When you can be convicted of threatening behaviour for referring to a female MP as a "Nazi""
That's not quite right though, is it? The guy was hurling abuse in the street at an MP during a protest, not just saying "you are a Nazi". And he admitted guilt, so a conviction was highly likely. And the charge was " intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress, using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour,"
And that's not quite right either. I am an official criminal for telling a traffic warden to fuck off. My intent was not to cause alarm harassment or distress; my intent was to communicate my desire that they should fuck off. And I had to admit guilt because the question that is asked in court is not "Did you intend to cause butthole clenching; the vapours and distress?"; the question asked is "Did you tell them to fuck off?"
I think the BK tweet if not intended to do so, demonstrated the stupidness of the police asking McDonalds to not sell milkshakes for that day, as if someone who was intent on throwing a milkshake would just say 'Oh McD's aren't selling them today, I won't bother going to the next nearest shop, café that sells milkshakes, I will just go home instead'
Especially when the McDonalds in question is inside a branch of Asda, and Asda was still selling its uaul range of liquid-based products, many of them a lot cheaper than a McDonalds milkshake, and some of them, more dangerous. Asda Smart Price Thin Bleach for example, 38p for a 2 litre bottle, comes with lots of warning labels.
"Permanent Physical Impairment" as in leaving someone reliant on a wheelchair or worse.
Caustic substance attacks (never got why the media described bleach as an "acid" apart from journos being thick) are terrible, but why a life sentence for that when leaving someone with brain damage and paraplegic after an assault will result in a sentence of sub 10 years??
>Caustic substance attacks (never got why the media described bleach as an "acid" apart from journos being thick) are terrible, but why a life sentence for that when leaving someone with brain damage and paraplegic after an assault will result in a sentence of sub 10 years??
There was the case of Mark van Dongen in 2015, who lost his eyesight in his left eye, damaged in the right, and was left paralysed and had his lower left leg amputated after his girlfriend threw a corrosive substance over him. He volunteered for euthanasia as a result.
That Asda was also allowed to keep selling it's milkshakes. I'd recommend an old style Fairy Liquid bottle filled with red paint as it's a safe distance-weapon.
My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they're like, it's better than yours
Damn right it's better than yours
I can teach you, but I have to charge
Humour bypass in situations like this & ban an "ad" (could argue not all posts on a twitter account are adverts - as provides a way for people to interact with a brand - and jokey comments / images on twitter accounts are fairly standard on company accounts (Poundland a great example)
Meanwhile ISPs massively mislead about likely broadband speeds and not a slap on the wrist to be found.
Nearly 80 years ago millions gave their lives or suffered injuries for the cause of freedom.
What a waste - given the Nanny Regime that has insinuated itself in to British life and has resulted in almost every facet of life in Britain.
If you don't agree with a advertisement or display, simply don't buy their products.
A friend was in London a few weeks ago and was having a loud 'discussion' with someone who had short-changed my friend. Some character, in street clothes, flipped open his Plod I.D. and said they were breaching some law. My friend, who is university educated, addressed the alleged Plod using an extended vocabulary, expressing himself more vehemently.
Plod responded said he didn't understand what my friend said but Plod said he could be arrested based on his 'attitude'. I think this is what the Army called 'dumb insolence' when I served. My friend switched to Chinese and repeated his opinions, leaving Plod with a blank look on his face.
Seemingly any of the standards that were current but a few years ago have been swept away by the standards adopted by authorities.
Sad.
You really think that the British govt didn't look upon the "efficiency" and "order" of Nazi Germany with total envy? Last 70 odd years they have been tirelessly working to reassert the "natural" order of things, get the "right" sort with "proper" breeding into their "rightful" place in society and get the "lesser" classes back down where they "belong".
Same reason they have their knickers in a knot over facial recognition and the boundless potential to keep tabs on and control all of us....no place to hide, no "private" life, Nanny sees and knows where ALL naughty children are at all times. Stuff even the Stasi would have considered overreach and intrusive.
Same reason we "studied" Chinese surveillance so much, not to condemn it but to learn from it. Next will be the great British/SNPistan firewall to keep out "divisive" "discriminatory" "misogynist" and other "unacceptable" content from the eyes of the populace and instead blare out only "approved" information...
I'm fundamentally against all physical assault, however minor, because it paves the way for escalation. That said BK wasn't endorsing the act, they were simply taking a dig at MDs. I guess this just continues the trend of 'illegal humour' in the UK, pretty soon you'll need to go the the black market for jokes.
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Heading more and more everyday for an Orwellian police state.....
ASA is an anachronism and gamed by "activists" on all sides of the debate, while the rest of us shrug our shoulders and get on with life,
#poor attempt at sourcecode
IF < 50% UK.Adults.population.status="complain"
Then IGNORE
Do
(I know I know its nowhere near right but you get the gist)
Vespasian was once pelted with turnips
Probably something to do with his family - his father was a debt and tax collector (colloquially called a "tax farmer") hence the turnips.
Which was a bit of a shame because he was a pretty effective emperor - certainly a vast improvement on his predecessors. One of his sons was also a good emperor (sadly short-lived - possibly having been poisoned by his brother Domitian) and the other was decidedly of the Nero type (said brother Domitian - who ended up being assassinated by his own court officials)
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