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Becca Monaghan
Apr 20, 2022
Madeleine McCann case to be closed by London police after 11 years
New York Post
Adverts from a Leeds based burger van poking fun at the Madeleine McCann case have been banned after causing distress.
Social media posts by The Otley Burger Company on March 27th were flagged to The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for showing images of Madeleine, who disappeared on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007, and her mother, Kate McCann. The tasteless text read: “With burgers this good, you’ll leave your kids at home. What’s the worst that could happen.”
One also showed a man running with a smaller image of Madeleine in his hands. It read "Burgers for dinner?" and "Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there".
The ASA received three complaints regarding the adverts, saying they would cause widespread offence. The ads have since been removed and the account is pending investigation.
The ads soon circulated on social media, causing uproar amongst users.
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Oneslammed the disgusting ad saying: "They may have got the publicity they wanted, but I will never buy their products. Sick b***ards."
Another quizzed, "what the hell were they thinking?!"
Madeleine McCann: Burger van advert banned for making light of missing girl - Sky News I cannot even believe how perverse and disgusting this ad is. This company should be banned for life!https://apple.news/AI5IqRKJhQWm7sDwuhn2P8A\u00a0\u2026— SaraswathiDurgaLaxmi (@SaraswathiDurgaLaxmi) 1650445483
\u201cMadeleine McCann\u201d how insensitive can anyone be placing an advert for Mother\u2019s Day on burger van. Why would such an advert encourage people to purchase burgers or anything else for Mother\u2019s Day. The best advert is Madeleine being reunited with her parents.pic.twitter.com/iSMvCGHJJy— Anthony (@Anthony) 1650438076
If ever a business should face compulsory close down it is this one. How could they do this?https://news.sky.com/story/distressing-burger-van-advert-banned-for-making-light-of-missing-madeleine-mccann-12594149\u00a0\u2026— Liam.smith@yahoo.com (@Liam.smith@yahoo.com) 1650431413
What the\u2026 I\u2019m stuck for words really. https://news.sky.com/story/distressing-burger-van-advert-banned-for-making-light-of-missing-madeleine-mccann-12594149\u00a0\u2026 'Distressing' burger van advert banned for making light of missing Madeleine McCannpic.twitter.com/VNWpHjMSI4— Stephen Votadini (@Stephen Votadini) 1650433988
Nobody should buy anything from the Otley Burger Company. They should be closed down. Disgusting advert.https://news.sky.com/story/distressing-burger-van-advert-banned-for-making-light-of-missing-madeleine-mccann-12594149\u00a0\u2026— Ian Barwell \ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc99 #FBPE FBPR #JOHNSONOUTNOW (@Ian Barwell \ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc99 #FBPE FBPR #JOHNSONOUTNOW) 1650439472
Whatever someone's opinion on the case, this is deeply offensive and disturbing. If I was employed by them, I'd resign and find another job or set up my own vanhttps://news.sky.com/story/distressing-burger-van-advert-banned-for-making-light-of-missing-madeleine-mccann-12594149\u00a0\u2026— Warrant Card Expired \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Warrant Card Expired \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1650441934
The Otley Burger Company should be utterly ASHAMED. Using the abduction and probable murder of a child in order to sell burgers. What the hell have things come to?https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/offensive-adverts-by-burger-van-23728773\u00a0\u2026— Trippy Pip (@Trippy Pip) 1650439915
I\u2019m all for free speech, and dubious humour, but I found these ads offensive and serving no purpose but to offend. If in doubt allow, but I hope people will vote by taking their business away.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-61153371\u00a0\u2026— The spirit of Diderot (@The spirit of Diderot) 1650443508
The ASA disclaimed that adverts should not use shocking claims or images to attract attention.
The ads "further trivialised the circumstances surrounding Madeleine's disappearance and made light of a distressing news story concerning reports of child abduction and serious crime".
Linking the ad to Mother's Day "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," it added.
"For those reasons, we concluded that the ads were likely to cause unjustified distress and serious and widespread offence," the watchdog said.
It ordered the company to remove the ads and ensure they do not reappear.
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