Twix adverts banned for condoning unsafe driving
Advertisements for chocolate bar Twix have been banned for condoning unsafe driving.
The TV and similar video-on-demand ads showed a man in a car chase which resulted in his vehicle and an identical, caramel-coloured car sandwiched on top of each other, like a Twix.
Five viewers complained the ads encouraged dangerous driving and were irresponsible.
Mars-Wrigley, which owns the Twix brand, told the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) the ad had a 'cinematic presentation' and was set in a 'world that was absurd, fantastical and removed from reality'.
It said Twix is known for its playful and absurd tone, and the humour in the ad reflected this.
However, the ASA said: 'We considered the emphasis on a chase, and the speed inherent to that, and the driving manoeuvres featured would be dangerous and irresponsible if emulated in real life on a public highway.
'Because we considered the driving depicted in the ads condoned unsafe driving that appeared likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code, we concluded the ads were irresponsible.'
The ASA ruled the ads must not appear again in their current form, adding: 'We told Mars-Wrigley not to condone or encourage irresponsible driving that was likely to breach the legal requirements of the Highway Code in their ads.'
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Still, the all-time crisp classics are considered to be: ready salted, salt & vinegar and cheese & onion. You can read more about the history of crisps here. Pork scratchings — crunchy, salt-cured chunks of pork fat — are found in most pubs. You will either fall in love with them, or spend the rest of your life apologizing to pigs whenever you see them. Either way, be advised that they can shatter your teeth (pork scratchings that is, not pigs). One level up is the pork pie (a lump of cold pork meat wrapped in gelatin and pastry, and served with eye-watering English mustard), and the Scotch egg, which reached its culinary zenith in 2016 when Anthony Bourdain shared one of these mincemeat-encased delicacies with Nigella Lawson. All sorts of 'pub grub' is available these days, classics including steak & ale pie, scampi, lasagne, and hunter's chicken. (Fish and chips is NEVER as good in a pub as it is from a fish and chip shop.) The holy grail of pub food is the Sunday roast, or roast dinner, served specifically on that one day of that week, and consisting of roasted meats, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing and a medley of veg. While many pub Sunday roasts are sub-par, when you find a decent one, everything is well with the world. 'Pub' is shorthand for 'public house,' and the best establishments feel like an extension of your own front room. The number one pastime in a pub is catching up with friends; which usually involves moaning about work/the weather/the friends who didn't come to the pub. Watching sports (football, rugby, cricket, snooker, darts) is a major draw too. Other pub entertainment includes: Reading the paper: Many pubs used to lay on a stack of papers for customers to get stuck into, although many pub goers now read the 'paper' on their phone. Pub quiz: A stalwart of the midweek pub experience, the pub quiz is an opportunity for you and accomplices to show off your (lack of) general knowledge, with the chance to win a £50 bar tab. As with pub/beer names, the most ludicrous pub quiz team name is also considered to be the best — even if you come last in the quiz, you'll be the heroes of the evening. Darts: The modern game of throwing small arrows into a circular board was formalised in a pub in west London in 1926. It's currently enjoying a renaissance, thanks to darts superstars like Luke Littler and Fallon Sherrock. Pool: Just as in the States, shooting pool is a popular bar in Britain. It's unusual to see a snooker table in a pub, and if you see a billiards table, you may have walked into a stately home by mistake. The antiquated game of bar billiards, on the other hand, can still be found in a select few pubs, although — *whisper it* — the game has Russian origins. Board games: Chess, Cluedo and Monopoly are among the favorites to be mulled over during a rainy Sunday afternoon. Jukebox: Channeling the spirit of 1950s American diners, some older British pubs pride themselves on their jukebox — an opportunity to foist your musical choice on everyone within listening distance. Many jukeboxes now are digital, though occasionally you'll find the real McCoy. Though British bars and restaurants rarely excel at continental style al fresco drinking and dining, a number of pubs are blessed with a pub garden. These are often hidden around the back; sometimes pubs will proclaim in bold lettering from the front: 'SECRET GARDEN.' British weather, naturally, does everything in its power to diminish the magic of the pub garden, although this doesn't stop the average Brit sitting outside and shivering into their pint, because even though it's blowing a moderate gale, it's July, and they know their rights. Up until 1988, pubs were required to close between 3.30 p.m. and 5 p.m., meaning there were one and a half hours in the afternoon where locals might be seen drifting around the village in a zombie-like state, occasionally pawing at the pub windows. This is rarely the case now. Though individual pub opening times vary, they tend to be from around midday to 11 p.m. A small bell is clanged (sometimes with almost too much fervour, by an exhausted publican), to warn you when to get your last drink in. There is then a mad rush to get in a valedictory pint, and drink it before the bell tolls a second time. This signals it's time to leave, or as the famous soap opera landlady Peggy Mitchell would say, 'get outta my pub'. On 'non school nights' (that is, Fridays and Saturdays), it's not unusual to give into primal instincts, and go in search of meat. If it's earlier in the night, a curry is often voted for. If last orders have been rung at the pub and the curry houses are shut, it's commonplace to order a takeout doner kebab: lengths of greasy lamb meat anointed with garlic and spicy chili sauce, which will make you regret everything the next morning all that much more. Will Noble is the editor of Londonist, which has its own London pub database.
