I thought it was quite funny - I liked the ad. It won't sell more Marmite in this house, because although I like it, ladysolly hates it, and she controls the food decisions.
Imagine my surprise when I read in the Telegraph today that they've had 250 complaints in the first 24 hours.
Why? Apparently, it offends animal lovers.
Well, I'm offended now. I'm offended that people can comlain about a slightly funny advert, in good taste and not at all offensive.
And I'm offended that the RSPCA has decided to butt in on this so that Marmite and the RSPCA can "work together on animal welfare". I'm offended because it isn't Marmite's job to work for animal welfare; their task is to make Marmite, and since it's entirely vegetable in origin, the RSPCA has no business butting in.
I shall complain to the RSPCA about this. They have offended me. My complaint number is 68224. Here's what I said:
I read that the RSPCA is getting involved with the makers of Marmite about their recent advert.
It is wholly inappropriate that the RSPCA get involved in this - no animals are being harmed in the making of this advert (or in the making of Marmite) and the RSPCA is wasting my contributions to the charity by butting in on this. I am deeply offended by the RSPCA trying to get the makers of Marmite to "work together on animal welfare". Some people will think that this is an attempt to get the makers of Marmite to make a contribution to the RSPCA, and this puts the RSPCA into disrepute.
... later ... here's the RSCPA's reply
Thank you for contacting us about the new Marmite advert.
Concerned supporters, who share your concern, have been telling us they feel this advert trivialises the work of animal welfare charities since it portrays a spoof rescue team saving "stricken" jars of Marmite from homes where they have been neglected.
We
can assure you that the people wearing uniforms in the advert are not
RSPCA staff, The RSPCA was not involved in the making of this advert and
we were as surprised by its content when it first aired on Monday
evening (5 August) as many of our supporters were.
Marmite
have since offered us £18,000 which is how much it costs to run our
inspectorate service for one day. This will make a massive difference to
the animals in the RSPCA’s care and we are very grateful for their
generosity. Love the
advert or hate it, we are thrilled that Marmite have put their money
where their mouth is and are supporting animal welfare by making a
donation to the RSPCA.
Kind regards
RSPCA Advice Team
They seem to have assumed that I have the exact opposite concern to what I told them. So I've pointed that out to them.
I like the advert. It does initially look like an rspca advert so I can sort of see where they were coming from. Worth them complaining for the money I suppose. The 250+ complaints are clearly a joke, some people seriously need to get a sense of humour! Would be a shame if the advert was pulled due to those numpties
ReplyDeleteI will wait till the advert arrives in my TV area, the analogue signal takes weeks to get here. But I wonder if drsolly is/ has considered withdrawing his monthly contribution, I feel perhaps RSPCA are just getting in on the act to get more money! I do hate it when companies manipulate society for their own good!!
ReplyDeleteConcerned companion.
ps What are the concerns the supporters share, you seem to feel the RSPCA are wasting your money, but they state the supporters worry about trivialisation...
pps Whats the Meerkats Association's phone number...