• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Burger King gets slap on the wrist for promoting its milkshakes in the wake of right-wing protests

The ASA raps Burger King for 'irresponsibly' promoting its milkshakes in the wake of protesters throwing drinks over right-wing campaigners.

Steve Beech by Steve Beech
2019-10-02 03:01
in News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Burger King has been rapped by watchdogs for ‘irresponsibly’ promoting its milkshakes in the wake of protesters throwing drinks over right-wing campaigners.

The fast food chain was found to have broken advertising rules over a tweet sent after far-right figures had food and drinks thrown over them during the European election campaign earlier this year.

The tweet was sent a day after McDonalds stopped selling milkshakes and ice-cream products in Edinburgh on the day Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage was due to give a speech to a political rally in the city.

The Burger King tweet, sent on May 18, stated: “Dear people of Scotland. We’re selling milkshakes all weekend. Have fun. Love BK. #justsaying”

“We’d never endorse violence”

Far right figure Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had been twice drenched by milkshakes in the preceding days as he campaigned in the north-west of England.

UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin, was at a public meeting in Cornwall on May 10 when a protester also tried to throw a drink over him.

Responding to complaints, Burger King tweeted: “We’d never endorse violence – or wasting our delicious milkshakes! So enjoy the weekend and please drink responsibly people.”

RelatedPosts

Brexit: Britain can’t access vast EU science funding due to ongoing tensions

Nadine Dorries admitted she shares her Netflix account – Reactions worth subscribing for

What cost of living crisis? Sunak makes Times Rich List as Brexiter Dyson’s wealth swells

Stanley Johnson who now says Brexit was ‘probably a good idea’ is French citizen – reactions

Irresponsible and offensive

But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched a probe after 24 people complained that the Burger King tweet was “irresponsible” and “offensive” because they believed it encouraged violence and anti-social behaviour.

The tweet was found to have broken rules regarding social responsibility plus harm and offence.

An ASA spokesman said: “Burger King responded that the tweet was intended to be a tongue in cheek reaction to recent events where milkshakes had been thrown at political figures.

“Burger King stated that it did not endorse violence and that was made clear with a follow-up tweet posted after responses to the tweet under complaint.”

‘Milkshaking’ political figures

He continued: “The ad was posted the day after a branch of McDonalds Restaurants in Edinburgh had chosen not to sell milkshakes or ice-cream products during a nearby political rally addressed by Nigel Farage, because milkshakes had been thrown at political figures in recent weeks.

“Those events had been widely reported in the media and we therefore considered that people who saw the tweet were likely to be aware of what had happened and that Nigel Farage was due to make more public appearances in Scotland that weekend.

“In that context we considered that the ad was likely to be seen as a reference to the recent incidents of ‘milkshaking’ political figures.

“Although we acknowledged that the tweet may have been intended as a humorous response to the suspension of milkshake sales by the advertiser’s competitor, in the context in which it appeared we considered it would be understood as suggesting that Burger King milkshakes could be used instead by people to ‘milkshake’ Nigel Farage.

“We considered the ad therefore condoned the previous anti-social behaviour and encouraged further instances. We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible.”

Tongue-in-cheek

He added: “The ad must not appear again in its current form.

“We told Burger King to ensure that its future marketing communications did not condone or encourage anti-social behaviour.”

A spokesman for Burger King said: “Our tweet regarding the situation in Edinburgh was intended to be a tongue in cheek reaction to the situation.

“It appears some have misinterpreted this as an endorsement of violence which we absolutely reject.

“At Burger King, we totally believe in individuals’ right to freedom of expression and would never do anything that conflicts with this.

“We’d never endorse violence or wasting our delicious milkshakes.”

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Everton star misses penalty in shock defeat

Teenage boy was stabbed to death after being chased by a gang, Scotland Yard confirmed

Newcastle United set to make formal approach for Sheffield Wednesday boss

Pret A Manger to give all staff £1k bonus following planned sale

Greta Thunberg tells crowd to ‘be the adults’ in environment battle

Living With The Lights On

PM slams ‘shocking’ security after Boris Johnson spotted at Tory party conference

Experts share baking tips and recipes ahead of Alzheimer’s Society Cupcake Day

Sweets and other treats for astronauts after space station delivery

Landlord fined £20,000 for not testing fire alarms before blaze ripped through block of flats

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.