Environmental campaigners failed to see the funny side of Simon Cowell’s spoof ad with Barclaycard, set in Antarctica.
The polar region is under major threat from climate change, they warn.
And the film debuted yesterday amid protests over Barclays’ climate policy, with Greenpeace calling it “the worst bank in Europe for funding fossil fuels”.
Over the Bank Holiday, Simon claimed he was launching a new talent show in Antarctica, but yesterday revealed it was a stunt to promote an online repayment calculator.
Cowell says the tool is so great for customers it made “bad business” sense, akin to him launching Take The Stage Antarctica in the “virtually uninhabited, ice-covered land mass”.
Charlie Kronick at Greenpeace UK, said: “Polar regions are the front line of climate change.
"Apparently, Barclays are so massively unaware that they’re choosing to draw attention to Antarctica, a continent profoundly impacted by their activities.”
Barclaycard said: “The campaign aims to show how customers can pay less in interest and clear their balance more quickly.”
Last year, Neil Young complained that he did not want to work with what he called a “fossil fuel funding entity” after being announced to perform at Barclaycard’s British Summer Time gig.
His gig will go ahead in London this summer without sponsorship.
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