Cadbury apologises to Campbell after chocolate comparison slur
CADBURY apologised to supermodel Naomi Campbell yesterday after she complained that an advert likening its chocolate bars to her contained racist slurs.
The advert for Cadbury’s Bliss range of Dairy Milk bars used the strapline: “Move over Naomi, there’s a new diva in town”, with an image of the chocolate bar sat on a pile of diamonds.
The advert was designed to be a play on her reputation for diva-like tantrums but unwittingly invoked racist connotations around Campbell’s skin colour.
Campbell described the advert as “insulting and hurtful”.
“I am shocked,” she said. “It’s upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but for all black people.”
“We would never deliberately produce any marketing material we felt might cause offence to any section of society,”Cadbury said.
“It was not our intention that this campaign should offend Naomi, her family or anybody else, and we are sincerely sorry that it has done so.”