Aldi Christmas advertisement pulled from television screens after bizarre complaints

Supermarket giant Aldi landed itself on Santa’s naughty list this year when it was forced to pull its “quirky” 60-second Christmas commercial — all because of a fiery indoor barbie.

The main complaint centred around a short scene depicting a man barbecuing sausages near his Christmas tree. Picture: Aldi

Supermarket giant Aldi landed itself on the naughty list after it was forced to pull its “quirky” 60-second Christmas commercial from TV screens earlier this month.

The advertisement, dubbed “Go Big on the Little Things”, angered several viewers who complained to the industry watchdog that a singing potato was given a human face and a man was shown cooking snags on a barbie inside his home.

The outlandish commercial depicted people preparing dishes for their Christmas feasts while singing revised lyrics from Dirty Dancing track The Time of My Life, such as: “I’ve had the sides of my life” and “you’ve never made a side like this before”.

The main complaint centred around a short scene depicting a man barbecuing sausages near his Christmas tree as oversized flames engulf the grill and smoke fills the room.

According to the Australian Association of National Advertisers’ code of ethics, advertising must not depict “content that would encourage or condone unhealthy or unsafe behaviour”.

The Aldi Christmas ad features a singing potato. Picture: Aldi

But other complaints related to a singing roast potato.

“The roast potato has a skin texture which offends me,” one person said.

“I have a severe skin condition and PTSD.

“The Aldi ad makes me relive all the pain of my own skin condition and hospital stay.”

She said she contacted Aldi headquarters but added that they “just laughed at me”.

Another person said the potato was comparable to a “chopped head on a dining table”.

“It is offensive and frightens little kids,” they said.

“It’s inappropriate as a Christmas food table set-up.”

The code of ethics states advertising must not depict material in a way which discriminates against a person on account of disability, or which portrays violence unless it is justifiable.

Aldi told the Ad Standards community panel, which reviews the complaints, that the roaring oversized flames of the barbecue are “exaggerated or fantastical elements” which are “unlikely to be found to be encouraging or condoning unsafe behaviour”.

“Aldi … typically uses quirky, exaggerated or fantastical elements mixed with relatable humour for its brand campaigns to reach its target audience (and) showcase how it is ‘Good Different’,” it said.

Addressing the complainant about the potato, the supermarket said the technique of combining a person’s face and an inanimate object is common in television and film.

The panel agreed, stating the ad made clear the “anthropomorphised potato is not a person with a skin condition” nor a “depiction of a severed head”.

Aldi Christmas ad was called ‘Go Big on the Little Things’. Picture: Aldi

However, the panel found the scene with the barbecue did not contain the same level of fantasy that the other scenes did.

“The use of barbecues indoors is inherently unsafe, due to the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning and fire danger,” it said in its December 6 case report.

“The panel considered that while the intent of this scene is to be lighthearted and comedic, this is a dangerous action which should not be encouraged or made light of.

“The panel noted that people have been seriously injured and killed by the use of barbecues indoors, and that this ad could be taken as a suggestion that this is an acceptable location to cook if the weather outside is not OK.”

It found Aldi to be in breach of the section of the code of ethics relating to health and safety.

In response, Aldi said it was reviewing its media plan.

“We … will remove any future live dates for our 60-second Christmas TV ad,” it said earlier this month.

But the supermarket noted the 30-second edit does not include the barbecuing scene.