Iceland’s Christmas advert has been banned from TV for being “too political”, because of its strong anti-deforestation message. The British supermarket, well-known for its frozen food, announces at the end of the video that their own label products will be palm oil free from 2019.
However, there is wide debate over whether or not the advert should have been banned.
I went online to watch the advert and when I saw a cartoon, I thought “this must be the wrong video”. However, I kept watching…
A young girl finds a baby orangutan called Rang-Tan in her room and she repeats “I don’t know what to do”. While the sweet animal destroys her room, she asks her why she is in her room and she explains there is a human in her forest “destroying all the trees for food and shampoo”. The human took her mother and she is scared he will take her too. “So, I thought I’d stay with you”, she concludes.
Now, the child DOES know what to do! She wants to help “Rang-Tan” and share her story to make other people fight too. “The future is not yet written, but I’ll make sure it is ours” is the final sentence of the advert before they hug each other. I had to dry my tears.
It looks more like a children story than an advert, but I have to say I have watched it more than once. Maybe because I enjoyed the combination of the graphics, Emma Thompson’s melodious voice and the rhyming words.
Also, what’s better than a child’s motivation to change the world? I find the advert really inspiring and helpful to raise awareness about the topic.
Many people complained that the advert is not really Christmassy. But who said that it has to be?
Maybe it is not on TV, but I think the advert is having enough success to spread awareness anyway, with 4 millions views on YouTube, and counting.
How can saving our planet be “too political”? There are many of adverts that have been on TV in the past that have more valuable reasons to be banned than this.
Oil palm production has a huge negative impact on the environment since it contributes to deforestation and climate change. It is predicted that in 5-10 years species like the orangutan will become extinct if nothing changes. Oil palm consequences might be banned from tv, but not from our planet…
This advert made me realise how much damage palm oil is doing to the planet, and I think maybe instead of banning the advert, more stores should be banning palm oil. If not for the sake of the planet, then for the sake of all the “Rang-Tans” that are being threatened worldwide.
