McCain has pulled its latest ad, featuring drag queen Baga Chipz from the air after it was revealed that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) had received over 70 complaints concerning the spot’s perceived use of “offensive and misogynistic language”.
The Canadian firm’s clip, created by London agency We Are Social contained the potentially risqué phrases “Now I’m not going to show you my lacy bits or do my famous rendition of Mariah … but what I will do is bring a bit of happiness to your midweek meal!” and “We’re going to make a Mini Baga. First you need your Smiley Face … got to have great big knockers if you’re making a Baga, could park a bus in between them!”
The former RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star was unveiled as the campaign figurehead earlier this month, in an attempt by McCain to diversify its image.
According to Campaign, the ASA is considering opening an investigation into the complaints, event though McCain has preemptively pulled the offending clip.
Before pulling the ad, McCain even drew criticism from Talk TV, a minor far right-wing news channel – which accused the company of producing sexualised marketing content aimed at children.
READ MORE: McCain names drag star Baga Chipz as its latest creative director
Adverts featuring content or characters subverting traditional gender roles historically draw a large amount of ASA complaints from the public, as seen with John Lewis’ 2021 ad featuring a boy wearing a dress, or even Moneysupermarket’s 2017 dance-off ad, in which a man danced in ‘hot pants’ and high heels.
Emma Webb has slammed McCain Oven Chips for using a drag queen in their new commercial.
"Sexualised drag queens should not advertise children's food. There's something very disturbing about it."
Watch Plank Of The Week 👉 https://t.co/5LuKy3U9ap@Iromg | @TVKev | @Emma_A_Webb pic.twitter.com/xJRLJxRBwM
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) June 28, 2022
“As a brand that has long championed diversity and inclusion, we are proud of our recent ‘Anything Goes’ campaign featuring drag queen, Baga Chipz, as our new Creative Director – in which she provides tips for enjoying midweek mealtimes,” a McCain spokesperson said.
“However, in one of the featured videos, we appreciate that the use of innuendo alongside the Potato Smiles product could be seen to be inappropriate.
They added: “No matter how popular Potato Smiles may be amongst our young adult audience, we recognise this is a product predominantly enjoyed by children.
“As a result, the video will no longer feature as the campaign continues into July.”
