The new Marmite advert is getting lots of unforeseen publicity which I am sure Unilever are pleased with as they now own the UK company making Marmite. This is a very clever advert. It is amusing. However, it does parody the work of the RSPCA in the UK when carrying out their duties in investigating and recovering neglected pets. The pet carriers used in the film are miniature versions of cat carriers. For me it is too flippant about a serious subject: animal neglect.
We are, therefore, seeing a advert based on cat and animal cruelty. A lot of people don’t see it that way. I respect their opinions, as usual. The LBC radio show host, Cristo, cannot understand why there have been hundreds of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK.
Note: videos on this site are typically made by people other than me and held on YouTube servers or the servers of other businesses (not the server storing this website). Sometimes the videos are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. It that has happened I apologise but I have no control over it.
I understand why there have been complaints. The advert is making a joke out of animal neglect which is a form of animal cruelty. I would have thought that was obvious, Cristo!
The lack of sensitivity by some people to the poor taste of the advert indicates completely polarised opinions about animals in the UK. Some people are sensitive to animal welfare. They are aware of animal welfare and want to see an improvement.
Others are more human-centric. The world revolves around them and the next buzz they can get from whatever source.
This is a comment on YouTube by one of the less sensitive types:
“People who complain about this advert just demonstrate their pathetic mentality. It is obvious that this advert has nothing to do with animal cruelty…ITS ABOUT MARMITE!!!!!!!!” …..or
Anyone who find this offensive seriously needs to get a life!!
And this is a comment from one of the offended people:
“Shocking! Animal cruelty is nothing to be taken lightly! I can only hope that Marmite realise their mistake and correct it… quickly!”
The majority of the comments on YouTube are for the advert and they criticise people who find it offensive.
This might not be significant because YouTube’s audience tends to be young people who in my view are less likely to be aware of animal cruelty or educated about it.
It is interesting that there are lots of:
Comment removed
Who removes comments on YouTube? It has to be the people who make Marmite. I believe they are removing comments by people who criticise the advert for being in bad taste. That is to be expected. They have left one or two just to try and provide a more realistic profile of comments.
Clearly there are some comments that are very critical of Marmite and the authors use strong language to express their opinion. These comments appear to have been deleted.
My opinion? I like the advert from an aesthetic point of view. I dislike it generally because behind the fun, style and success of this advert, are many neglected animals that have suffered pain and emotional distress, which is the exact opposite to what we are expected to feel when we watch the advert. That has to be distasteful.
As Ruth says it looks like tar. It is occasionally used to resurface roads.
lol it looks like it too, but I’d rather eat tar any day than that objectionable stuff yuck if I was forced to choose lol
Just have to say…it sounds like TAR to me!
It is strong tasting so is spread thinly. It is black and sticky 😉 It lasts for ever so gets left in the pantry for ever. Hence the advert.
It tastes meaty but is made from yeast, it’s thick, black and spreadable, sometimes people use it to flavour gravy.
Dreadful advert making mock of the serious issue of animal abuse is low life.