CLIMATE CHANGE
Angry shoppers start petition to get ‘banned’ Iceland Christmas advert on TV
ANGRY shoppers have started a petition demanding that Iceland's "banned" advert about the destruction of the rainforest is shown on TV.
The supermarket made a deal with Greenpeace to reuse its animated film starring a cute orangutan whose home has been destroyed as its festive commercial, which it released on social media today.
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But it was ruled "too political" by regulator Clearcast to be broadcast.
Thousands are furious that the ad has not been allowed on TV after celebrities and shoppers took to social media to praise Iceland for releasing such a powerful campaign about how the palm oil industry is ruining wildlife habitats.
More than 8,000 people have even signed to be shown on TV.
The petition to get the advert on TV was started by father-of-three Mark Topps from London.
He said: "Iceland released a Christmas advert today highlighting the devastation caused by palm oil products. It was a beautiful and important message.
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"As a father of three who thinks this ad would help educate people about how their products are killing orangutans and their homes, I feel banning this advert is an injustice."
Environmentalists may be familiar with the advert as it was originally made for Greenpeace and released on social media in August. Now, it has been repackaged as an Iceland campaign.
Celebrities have joined thousands of Iceland shoppers in praising the advert for its bold message.
The majority are arguing that campaigning to save the environment is not a "political"; issue and so the advert should not be "banned" from appearing on TV.
Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall wrote on Twitter: "It's a shame that Iceland’s ad about #PalmOil has been banned from TV for being “political”.
"Concern for the planet isn’t political, it’s #ethical!"
MasterChef judge John Torode also posted a link to the advert and wrote: "Watch this... why has this been banned?? Political?? Why?"
Advertising body Clearcast said it hasn't technically banned the advert but the organisation couldn't clear it to run on TV because it is too political, which breaches the rules of the Broadcast Code of Advertising Practice.
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Narrated by Emma Thompson, the not-so-festive advert starts with a cute Dora the Explorer-style cartoon about a baby orangutan called Rang-Tan who is creating havoc in a young girl's bedroom.
But things turn very dark when the youngster asks why the ape is in her room - and he reveals it's because humans are destroying the rainforest.
Greenpeace was not cleared to run the commercial on TV either - so it's unlikely that anyone at Iceland was unaware of the rules banning companies from broadcasting political adverts.
Some viewers might rightly question if using the banned Greenpeace advert is just a clever marketing stunt.
But people don't seem to mind as it's raising awareness of a very important issue affecting wildlife habitats in rainforests on Borneo and Sumatra, where orangutans live.
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In very distressing scenes, the cartoon turns mostly black and white and shows the ape and his mother running away from trucks harvesting forests on Borneo and Sumatra.
At one point, the ape's mother looks like she will be killed.
It won't be shown on TV but Clearcast cannot stop someone from putting adverts onto social media, which is why the commercial will be aired online only.
The supermarket wants to raise awareness of the plight of orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra because of the palm oil industry.
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More than 50,000 orangutans are said to have been killed because their habitats have been destroyed by multinational companies harvesting forests for palm oil.
The oil is a cheap ingredient used in many everyday groceries, from chocolate and ice cream to margarine and soap.
It's said to be found in more than 50 per cent of supermarket products.
Iceland is the first supermarket in the UK to pledge that none of its products will contain palm oil by the end of this year.
Its Christmas range is also entirely free of palm oil.
What is palm oil and why is it bad for the environment?
THIS is why palm oil is so controversial:
Palm oil is a vegetable oil made from the fleshy fruit of oil palms.
It has been used for thousands of years as cooking oil, in soap products, and was also used as an industrial lubricant during the Industrial Revolution.
It contains a high concentration of saturated fat, and the World Health Organisation encourages us to limit our intake of the oil.
It’s found in many everyday products, from lipsticks to washing detergent and food.
Many foods list palm oil as ‘vegetable oil’ so it can be tricky to spot, as it can come under many different names.
It can be listed as: Vegetable Oil, Vegetable Fat, Palm Kernel, Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Fruit Oil, Palmate, Palmitate, Palm olein, Glyceryl, Stearate, Stearic Acid, Elaeis Guineensis, Palmitic Acid, Palm Stearine – and many more, so it’s not always obvious to spot.
One tablespoon of palm oil (14g) contains 114 calories and 14g of fat, 7g of which is saturated.
Due to its widespread use, the production of palm oil has caused deforestation, climate change, and even animal deaths.
Richard Walker, managing director at Iceland said: “Throughout 2018, we have led the retail industry to take action in areas such as rainforest destruction for palm oil and plastic pollution of our oceans.
"This year we were keen to do something different with our much anticipated Christmas advert.
"The culmination of our palm oil project is offering our customers the choice of an orangutan friendly Christmas, and we wanted to reflect this in our advertising.
“Whilst our advert sadly never made it to TV screens, we are hopeful that consumers will take to social media to view the film, which raises awareness of an important global issue.
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";Our commitment to help protect the home of orangutans remains extremely close to our hearts."
The advert tells the story of a little girl annoyed with Rang-Tan for making a mess in her bedroom, which Emma Thompson narrates in rhyme.
But when she asks the ape why he's there, he reveals the hardship he and his family have gone through, which is why he's been left homeless.
The powerful advert ends with the little girl pledging to help save the rainforests and the orangutans by telling everyone about their plight and she and her new friend share a sweet hug.
Baby orangutan saved from palm oil plantation after 'hunters butchered his mum'
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