Celebrities including James Corden and Bill Bailey have joined a campaign to lift the TV ban on Iceland’s Christmas ad about the plight of orangutans.
They joined the public outcry following a watchdog’s refusal to allow the 90 second weepie to air on mainstream channels on grounds it was too political.
Since Mirror Online revealed it had been barred by Clearcast, a petition launched on Change.org has been signed by almost 650,000 people.
The poignant animation has been seen by millions on YouTube and other social media channels and Late Late Show host Corden shared the link on Twitter and said: “This commercial was banned from TV for being too political. I think everyone should see it.”
Comedian and musician Bailey tweeted: “I am adding my voice to many who want this to be seen far and wide.”
Clearcast which gives the thumbs up to ads on behalf of the four major broadcasters, said it could not give the ad the green light as it breached Broadcast Code of Advertising Practice (BCAP) rules.
It said: “Clearcast and the broadcasters have to date been unable to clear this Iceland ad because we are concerned that it doesn’t comply with the political rules of the BCAP code.”
The cartoon, first created for environment group Greenpeace, was rebranded for Iceland as it reflected the frozen food store’s pledge to remove palm oil from all its own label products by the end of the year.
But it is the mini film’s association with Greenpeace – seen to be a political organisation – that has led to the ban.
Despite Clearcast’s stand, Brits are calling for a U-turn in an online petition started by Mark Topps, a 30-year-old care home manager of Chelmsford, Essex.
He said “I watched the ad with my daughter who’s five and she really like it.
“I didn’t see it as political at all and I just wanted to raise awareness for the next generation of deforestation and extinction – that’s why I stared it.
“Overall, I’d like to see that advert on TV.”
The animation called Rang-Tan tells how the destruction of rainforests is having a devastating effect on the creatures through the eyes of a baby orangutan.
In the film, the sad animal is found wrecking a girl’s bedroom and when asked why, the camera zooms through the young animals’ eyes to tell the story of how humans have come into her rainforest home and decimated it for palm oil to use in products like shampoo and chocolate.
Scenes show a digger ripping up trees as the baby orangutan flees for her life and she tells the girl: “There’s a human in my forest and I don’t know what to do.
“He took away my mother and I’m scared he’ll take me too.”
The emotive film ends with the words “Dedicated to the 25 orangutans we lose every day.”
Growing demand for controversial palm oil used in food production, cosmetics and biodiesel is devastating tropical rainforests across South East Asia and has put the future of creatures like orangutans at risk.
Neil Hayes, Iceland’s marketing director said: “We were devastated when we found out the advert wasn’t going to be approved, however we’re so pleased that the world has now been able to see our important message. There’s no doubt that Rang-Tan has well and truly captured the heart of the nation.
“Our aim with the advert was to highlight the impact that deforestation through the unsustainable sourcing of palm oil is having on orangutans and the environment they live in, which has been achieved by the outstanding response of the general public on social media and through the petition.”
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