Coronavirus-themed advert for British bed that reads 'no nasty imports' banned for racist overtones

A coronavirus-themed advert showing a cartoon mattress wearing a surgical mask along with the words “no nasty imports” has been banned for racist overtones.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) judged that the advert was likely to cause “serious or widespread” offence.

The regulator’s decision came after two members of the public complained about the advert, which appeared in a north London newspaper on 12 February.

Along with the mask, the cartoon featured a Union Jack design on the front of the mattress.

The text said: "British build [sic] beds proudly made in the UK. No nasty imports."

An ASA spokesperson said the body thought the public was likely to take the phrase “no nasty imports”, along with the image of the surgical mask, as a reference to coronavirus.

"We considered that in combination with the image, the reference to 'nasty imports' was likely to be read as a negative reference to immigration or race, and in particular as associating immigrants with disease,” the spokesperson added.

Vic Smith Beds, the company behind the banned advert, said it had not intentionally caused offence, claiming its "multi-cultural workforce” had not raised any concerns about it before publication.

A spokesperson for the company said: "It was never [our] intention to be offensive or racist and [we] did not think we had been."

The spokesperson said the advert, which appeared in TheEnfield and Haringey Independent newspaper, sought to advertise their beds as British-made, as opposed to those which reach London in a “damp container sent from China”.

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