“Sick beyond belief”: Burger chain slammed for Maddy McCann Mother’s Day ad
The Otley Burger Company in the UK has been met with a furious response after posting an ad to social media that made light of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann ahead of Mother’s Day – although the owner of the company has defended the post, claiming it was “just a meme”.
Shared to social media by the Leeds-based chain, the ads depict McCann and her mother, along with a small edited image of a masked man escaping with the child, plus a caption: “With burgers this good, you’ll leave your kids at home. What’s the worst that could happen?”.
The ad then concludes with the phrase “Happy Mother’s Day to all the mums out there”.
Such was the fury the ads were met with that they were quickly banned by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority, which deemed the posts likely to cause offence and distress after several complaints were made.
The ASA stated that the ads made light of the circumstances surrounding McCann’s disappearance.
“Any reference to a missing child was likely to be distressing, and that in the context of an ad promoting a burger company, the distress caused was unjustified,” the statement read.
The ASA then asked Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to remove the posts and suspend the account pending investigation.
Meta said it had reviewed the Instagram post and removed it for violating policies, while Twitter said the post had also been deleted.
The burger company’s takeaway service page was quickly flooded with furious comments over the “disgusting” behaviour.
“Sick beyond belief, I hope the company goes broke,” one person wrote.
“Hang your heads in shame,” wrote another.
Owner Joe Scholey, 29, told Metro UK: “I’m not taking the mick out of a missing toddler. I’m basically putting, ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ to all the mums,” he said.
“She [Kate McCann] is a mum. Not the world’s greatest mum and not the world’s worst. She’s a mum, there’s one there.”
Image: Otley Burger Company