Marmite Ad Banned for Leaving Kids Too Scared to Watch TV

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority has told Unilever Bestfoods that its latest ad for Marmite can't appear during any children's programming. The parody of the 1950s sci-fi classic "The Blob" seems to scare kids. Six families complained about the ad. Two said their toddlers had nightmares, while four others said the ad left their kids too scared to watch TV. Good for Unilever Bestfoods.

Marmite is a very nutritious spread that occupies the same place in the British kid's diet that peanut butter has in the American child's. Made from brewer's yeast, it is chock-full of B-complex vitamins. And like most things that Mum serves that are nutritious, the taste is vile. Even the Marmite slogan acknowledges the fact; "You either love it or hate it." Marmite's Australian cousin, Vegemite, may be more familiar to North American readers, but the taste is equally unpleasant.

The editor expects a great deal of mail over these statements, but there is no accounting for folly learned in childhood. Some people are Yankees fans, some really enjoyed disco, and still others think Benny Hill is funnier than Monty Python. Each such opinion is wrong at best, and evil at worst.

However, Marmite does rather look like The Blob. The advert has a huge lump of Marmite trundling down the street; some people are running in terror, while others (those sadly misguided folk who will voluntarily eat the stuff) run toward it, their hearts bursting with joy. In banning the ad, the ASA said, "We accepted that the advertisement's effect on young children would have been hard to anticipate. However, it was clear from the complaints we received that they had caused distress to very young children."

No one likes the idea of children suffering nightmares -- although they are a part of being human (and tend to increase in frequency during the daylight hours as one ages). But four of these families were handed a gift by the Unilever Bestfoods. Too scared to watch TV? Just imagine the possibilities. The kids might go outside and play. They might spend time with their parents and siblings. They might even read. These habits could last a lifetime. If eating Marmite is the price for a generation of literate, sociable kids, then Oliver Twist's words are appropriate, "Please, Sir, I want some more."


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home