The face of Maddie McCann, the girl who disappeared in 2007 in Portugal during a vacation with her family, used in an advertisement for the Otley Burger Company that produces take-away fast food on a van.
The Leeds-based company ran a series of social media announcements on Mother's Day, which this year fell on March 27 in the UK.
“With such good burgers, you will leave your kids at home. What's the worst that could happen. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, ”reads an ad featuring the faces of little Maddie and her mother Kate. As if to say, nothing happens if you eat at home. Another ad showed a man running around with Maddie's photo in his hands: “Hamburger for dinner”.
Content deemed offensive by users. The ASA, Advertising Strandards Authority, received three complaints and thousands of reports, which it accepted, asking social networks (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to remove the content.
Advertisements that were promptly removed, then Asa posted the response to her investigation: “The Otley Burger Company claimed it would no longer use Kate McCann's photos that way or superimpose Madeleine McCann's kidnapping images. He said all the ads had been removed and would no longer appear. He also said that the image was a meme and that there was no product placement, so it wasn't advertising. "
According to the Authority, the reference to a missing child can be "distressing", and that "advertisers must not use shocking phrases or images to attract attention".
This isn't the first time the company has been making controversial advertisements. On the occasion of last year's Father's Day he had published pictures of well-known serial killers. Also last year he posted a photo of Karen Matthews, a disgraced mom who faked the kidnapping of her daughter Shannon.
The owner, 29-year-old Joe Scholey, overwhelmed by the controversy, said he was doing it purely for money and did not apologize: “I don't care if people get offended by these ad campaigns. Some time ago I published one that brought a lot of money and then I thought, why not do it again? ”. But this time it didn't go well.
