Mother's Day burger advert using Madeleine McCann banned for causing offence

20 April 2022, 00:25 | Updated: 20 April 2022, 10:45

The adverts were banned for causing offence
The adverts were banned for causing offence. Picture: PA

By Will Taylor

Burger van adverts that made light of Madeleine McCann's disappearance have been banned for causing offence.

The Otley Burger Company's social media accounts ran an advert on Mother's Day with an image of the child and Kate McCann, her mother.

Text with the image said: "Burgers for dinner? With burgers this good, you'll leave your kids at home. What's the worst that could happen."

A man was shown running in the background with a smaller image of Madeleine in his hands, with a line: "Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there."

Three complaints were submitted to the Advertising Standards Authority [ASA] over the West Yorkshire-based takeaway's advert.

The ASA said it believed the content was of such a concern that it asked Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to take down the content and suspend the account pending an investigation.

The Otley Burger Company, which has about 7,000 followers on Instagram, said the adverts were removed and would not be used again.

Read more: Boris 'orders Tories to block new Partygate probe' as he defies calls to quit

Read more: Self-driving car owners will be allowed to watch TV and films on the go

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the content had been removed and restrictions were placed on the Instagram account. Twitter said the tweet had been deleted.

The ASA says adverts must not contain material that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence.

It said: "The disappearance of Madeleine McCann had been a high-profile and long-running media story which remained widely known. We considered the images of them would be instantly recognisable to many people.

"We further considered that any reference to a missing child was likely to be distressing, and that in the context of an ad promoting a burger company the distress caused was unjustified."

The watchdog added that the text and the image of a man running away with a superimposed photo of Madeleine "further trivialised the circumstances surrounding Madeleine's disappearance and made light of a distressing news story concerning reports of child abduction and serious crime".

The Mother's Day timing "was likely to have compounded the distress of those who saw the ads, and particularly for those who may have experienced the disappearance of a child".

The advert must not appear again, the authority ruled.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Exclusive
'Proportionality does not weigh on numbers' IDF spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner said

'Proportionality does not weigh on numbers', IDF spokesman says of civilian deaths in Israel response to Hamas attack

Italy Garisenda Tower

Leaning tower cordoned off in Bologna amid collapse fears

The war is continuing as talks to restart the truce have broken down

Talks to restart Israel-Hamas truce break down, as IDF issues fresh evacuation orders for southern Gaza

Oil refinery

50 oil companies pledge to reach near-zero methane emissions by 2030

Manchester United have had to rethink their travel plans

Snow chaos across UK as icy blasts causes widespread disruption, as Manchester United's flight to Newcastle axed

Israel Palestinians

Death toll in Gaza ‘passes 15,200 with women and children making up 70%’

Major Kevin McCool has died aged 32

Tributes pour in for 'exceptional' British army officer, 32, who died while off-duty in Kenya

Queen Mary University of London

Jewish students at east London university 'subjected to Hitler jokes and threats of violence' by other students

Alexei Navalny

Russia brings new charges against jailed Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny

Harry and Meghan were urged to back Charles

Harry and Meghan urged to support Charles and royals amid Archie racism row, as Boris Johnson weighs in

COP28 Climate Summit

Developing nations press rich world to fight climate change at Cop28 summit

Russia LGBTQ Crackdown

Police raid Moscow gay bars after court labels LGBT+ movement ‘extremist’

Israel Palestinians

Israel intensifies assault on southern Gaza amid fears over civilian deaths

A man died after the blast

Horror as elderly man dies after Edinburgh gas explosion that flattened home, as man and woman rescued

'At least 200 killed' in Gaza since Israel-Hamas war restarted

'Nearly 200 killed' in Gaza since Israel-Hamas war restarted, as IDF pounds south of strip despite fears for civilians

Snow continued to cause disruption on Saturday

Snow chaos as flights suspended, and trains and sports events axed amid -5C temperatures