Forum Topic

BBC World cup advert

Whoever put this advert together must be too young to remember the football stadium fire where the cameras kept rolling with that poor policeman walking across the pitch with his hair in flames.  We tuned in as the fire was being beamed out live.Which stadium was this at?

Sarah Felstead ● 6937d7 Comments

It’s just an advert where I suggest the person putting it together has no recollection of the people wandering across the football pitch on fire.If they started it off with cages and people squashed behind fences it would be just as inappropriate a line of thought for the World cup - and both these disasters are major, terrifically horrific events at - family football matches.

Sarah Felstead ● 6935d

I remember plenty of huge disasters and none more than the hillsborough disaster. My Grandfather was at that game.  I just think that if we were to do what you want and stopped all forms of artistic or graphic representaion you might link in your head to one horrible incident or another then why would we bother advertising anything for fear of offending anyone at all?  Adverts often remind me of unpleasant experiences. I am sure they do everyone  The fire safety one with a man in his burnt out home.. a family burned to death from me three doors down when I was four.  Its just an advert not intended to offend and neither is this.

Conal Stewart ● 6935d

Per-raps you are showing your age, Conal?Just been sitting with hubby - I haven’t mentioned the World cup advert to him - and it came on.  "That’s not very nice" - he started and, well, Conal, had you seen the fire as it happened, as millions of people did - you would not be so happy about the advert either.  Any man on a football pitch, on fire, should be considered inappropriate for the world cup message.With a programme you can have some control over whether you watch it – but when will this advert be shown so I can avoid it?  It really is not very nice and spoils the run up to the Cup for me.:-(

Sarah Felstead ● 6935d

Its just simple turnover of people.  I don't see anything wrong with the advert in general.  We could sit all day and take offence at adverts, plays, and films that hold startling similarities to past tragedies if we thought enough about them. Life imitating art, art imitating life... it just happens.  Some people took great offence at the BBC doing the Omagh bomb. I don't see why they should, invariably those that did, had nothing to do with the actual horrendous events of that day.

Conal Stewart ● 6935d

I know Conal - as I said the person who put this together must be too young to have seen the Bradford fire.  Watching that Policeman walking across the pitch with his hair on fire and the other TV shots, live was one of the most horrible sights I have seen, or hope to ever see.  If they sat whoever it is in front of the footage and then asked them to put together an idea for the adverts - I bet the last thing it would include would be a person wandering/running along in flames.  Anna Ford is right - the BBC is too young ... :-)

Sarah Felstead ● 6935d

I'm sure it wasn't intentional Sarah.  The idea is that the player is simply "on fire"... not literally, as I'm sure you realise.

Conal Stewart ● 6935d

"Which stadium was this at?"Valley Parade, Bradford City's ground, 11 May 1985.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/4760483.stm

Richard Jennings ● 6937d