A racially "offensive" TV advert for chewing gum has been banned following hundreds of complaints from furious viewers.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 519 complaints about the TV and cinema ads for Trident chewing gum, many from black people who felt "humiliated".

The ASA upheld the complaints about the ads - branded "sickening" by some offended viewers.

It found that the ads "ridiculed" and "degraded" people from the Caribbean and ordered them not to be shown again.

The ads were found to be in breach of three advertising guidelines, including ones relating to "harmful stereotypes".

The complaints centred on four different TV adverts for the chewing gum made by Cadbury.

One showed a black man speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent shouting "mastication for the nation" through a megaphone. Another showed the same black man running along a busy street and shouting about Trident gum.

A third showed a white, middle-aged woman at a women's meeting speaking in rhyme about the gum in a mock Caribbean accent when she was supposed to have spoken about late summer chutneys. The fourth TV ad showed a white man speaking in rhyme about the Trident gum in a Caribbean accent.

Angry viewers, including members of Ligali - the African British equality authority, complained that the ads were both offensive and racist because they showed offensive stereotypes and ridiculed black people and their culture.

One of the black viewers who complained said "it portrays us as objects to be laughed at" while another said the ads were "depicting times of a Minstrel Show, or where black people used to have to do degrading things to 'entertain' white people".

One viewer claimed that the ads were racist because they promoted the stereotype of black Caribbean people having particular accents and mannerisms.

Others viewers claimed the ads were insensitive because Trident was the name of the Met Police's "black-on-black" gun crime task force. However, these particular complaints were rejected.

Cadbury bosses claimed that Trident gum was an established global brand and for its launch in the UK they had chosen to depict a humorous and tongue-in-cheek "gum revolution".

They said they had used a performer of dub poetry as the "revolutionary spokesman" because they believed he had a "charismatic quality" that appealed to the target audience of 16 to 34-year-olds.

Cadbury said it had sought views from the public as well as representatives of the African Caribbean community before launching the adverts.

An ASA spokesman said: "They explained that the research had shown people either loved or hated the ads, and that two-thirds of respondents in both groups, when prompted, had found the ads funny, but some had nevertheless found them offensive.

"They pointed out that the percentage of the sample who had found the ads offensive, when prompted, was in line with the general population score for previous research, and also that spontaneous comments about offence had been few and limited to the African Caribbean population.

"They also provided research covering the first three weeks of the Trident campaign that showed that there was a decline in the number of people finding the ads offensive and an increase in them being considered fun.

"Cadbury believed this was due to a greater understanding of the integrated campaign; they pointed out that, overall their research had shown that consumers now described the Trident brand as adventurous, youthful, playful and distinctive."

Cadbury claimed they had spent two years preparing the launch of the product in the UK and that it was "coincidence" that the Met's 'black-on-black' gun crime initiative had the same name.

Explaining the decision to uphold the complaints, the ASA spokesman said: "We noted their research had shown that the ads were likely to result in a polarised reaction from viewers and approximately one-in-five of the British African Caribbean sample had found the ads offensive.

"We understood, from the complaints we received, that the scenes of the black man's extreme response to tasting the product had resulted in a significant minority of viewers inferring that his exaggerated behaviour and strong accent were a humiliating and negative depiction of black or Caribbean people.

"Complainants told us 'It portrays us as objects to be laughed at'; 'this near 'Driving Miss Daisy' degradation of singing songs for the whites sickens me'; 'this man's behaviour shows anything but a positive role as a black man'; 'it is as if it is laughing at black people who campaign for equal rights' and 'depicting times of a Minstrel Show, or where black people used to have to do degrading things to "entertain" white people'.

"We also understood from the complaints that the imitation of the strong Caribbean accent and mannerisms by the white people had been seen by the viewers who complained to be insulting, derogatory and demeaning to people of black or Caribbean heritage.

"We acknowledged that Cadbury believed they had used an up-to-date and authentic aspect of Caribbean culture, dub poetry, to portray the notion of a revolution in chewing gum.

"However, we noted from the complaints that many viewers had not interpreted the actions of the main characters, particularly the dub poet, as Cadbury had intended and had been offended by what they saw as the negative stereotype of black or Caribbean people and their culture."

He added: We noted that greater sensitivity was required of advertisers using humour based on accents, because of the potential to cause serious offence, especially if it could be seen to be patronising or demeaning to groups of people who were generally recognised to have encountered prejudice.

"We considered that the ads did not incite racial intolerance or discrimination on the basis of race. However, we also noted the stereotype depicted in the ads had, unintentionally, caused deep offence to a significant minority of viewers and that many of those who complained to us were concerned that the negative stereotype would be perpetuated. The ads should not be shown again."

Incidentally, the guy who put up the second advert linked in this thread on youtube seems an interesting character...

Other way round?

Ridicurous.

Wullie is trying to be Japanese. Someone report him!