Watchdog approves 'sexy' tea advert

Published on Tuesday 25 March 2008 21:48

A LIGHT-HEARTED TV advert for Twinings tea in which three white women flirt with a young black American was yesterday cleared of playing on negative racial stereotypes.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it had decided not to uphold a lone complaint from a viewer who believed the ad suggested black men were sexually promiscuous and existed to provide sexual services for white women.

The complainant, a woman who was not identified by the ASA, alleged that an ad for Lady Grey tea and another for Earl Grey, which also featured the black character, were both offensive and harmful.

The commercial features Stephen Fry behind the counter of a tea shop, as the black man, named Tyrone, writes a message on a noticeboard informing customers that the drink "puts the zing in your ding-a-ling".

Dismissing the claims of racial bias, an ASA panel described the innuendo used to promote the aromatic beverages as unlikely to cause widespread offence.

The panel observed: "Although we acknowledged the innuendo was mildly sexual, we did not consider that it was reliant on the young man's ethnic origins or a racial stereotype."

Meanwhile, the food giant Heinz was cleared of misleading the public into believing that its "Farmers' Market" soup range is made from locally-sourced ingredients.

The ASA rejected 25 complaints made about TV and press adverts for the product, including six from food and farming organisations.

In a four-page judgment, the ASA said TV and press adverts for the soups – which invited the public to "Taste the countryside" – had been unlikely to mislead.