Iceland’s New Christmas Ad Gets Banned For Being “Too Political”

Iceland, a UK-based retail store chain, reported that their new Christmas ad was banned off TV. The advert, that was originally a short film made by Greenpeace, focuses on palm oil and its dangers to the environment, especially the rampant deforestation in such regions like Malaysia and Indonesia, where more than 2,5 million acres of rainforest are lost every year.  The cutting of trees to make space for oil palms has led to a severe orangutan population drop with 3 remaining species categorized as critically endangered. According to the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), it is estimated that between 1,000 to 5,000 orangutans are killed in Palm Oil concessions every year.

The advert focuses on an orangutan character named Rang-Tan and expresses fear and concern towards loss of natural habitat and the looming threat of extinction to the orangutan species. “[We wanted] to raise awareness of rainforest destruction caused by palm oil production, and its devastating impact on the critically endangered orangutan. […] However, it has been ruled our advert will not appear on TV alongside other supermarkets” reported Iceland’s representative. According to Clearcast, the company responsible for vetting advertisements before broadcasting, Rang-Tan’s story was too political to be shown on screens and was not compliant with the 2003 Communications Act, therefore not suitable for being shown on TV. Watch the video below and tell us if you think Clearcast’s decision was right.

More info: Iceland | Orangutan Foundation International

Recently, Iceland’s new Christmas advert was banned from the TV

Iceland is a UK retailer that’s been focusing on many environmentally friendly initiatives, including removing palm oil from their products

Image credits: Danrok

The ad is voiced by a British actress, author, and activist, Emma Thompson

Image credits: Garry Knight

And features an orangutan character named Rang-Tan

The advert was originally a short movie by Greenpeace, focusing on palm oil and its damage

Palm oil is a widely used type of vegetable oil and is in about 50% of all household and food products

Image credits: 3dman_eu

The rampantly growing palm oil industry has led to massive deforestation

Especially in such areas as Indonesia, where more than 2,5 million acres of rainforest are lost every year

Image credits: Hayden

With the destruction of natural habitat, orangutan numbers have dropped drastically, with estimated 1,000 to 5,000 annual losses

The losses were so huge that all three remaining orangutan species are classified as critically endangered as of today

Image credits: Brett Jordan

“[We wanted] to raise awareness of rainforest destruction caused by palm oil production, and its devastating impact on the critically endangered orangutan”

“However, it has been ruled our advert will not appear on TV alongside other supermarkets” reported Iceland’s representative

According to Clearcast, Rang-Tan’s story was too political to be shown on screens and was not compliant with the 2003 Communications Act

Clearcast is the company responsible for vetting advertisements before broadcasting

Watch the full advert below to see for yourself

After the news of the advert’s ban broke, people had a lot to say

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