Visit Britain pulls 'You're invited' tourism ads as grim parody shocks the world
The impact of the riots on Britain's £100 billion tourist business may not be as bad as some fear but this parody rubs in the horror of it all. And you can also see the ad that's been pulled. Pretty damn good, isn't it!
Reporting the decision, the US magazine Adweek joked that , with Judi Dench, Dev Patel, Rupert Everett, Twiggy and Jamie Oliver in the current ads "No wonder there's rioting in the streets."
The magazine said that predictably parodies were rushing to fill the void. The clip below, produced and edited by Ben Churchill, mixes riot footage with celebs voicing the "You're invited" tagline.
Adweek says it's's the most violent tourism ad parody since Jimmy Kimmel roasted the city of Vancouver when fans rioted after the Stanley Cup ice hockey Finals.
Never shy of hitting a man when he's down, Adweek added : "British tourism ads of any kind may soon be passé. By the time things calm down, there might not be much left for visitors to see."
A BTA spokesman said they had not yet been made aware of reports of tourists leaving Britain early or cancelling trips to the country. "At the moment these are isolated incidents occurring away from tourist attractions," he said. "Tourists have not been affected."
Mary Rance, head of the trade body UKInbound, told the Guardian: "The riots are most unfortunate for the global image of the UK – and not just ahead of the Olympics but for the country's short term and long term inbound tourism industry.
"With scenes of looting, violence and lawlessness flashing across TV screens across the globe it is absolutely vital that the government and its agencies, as well as the UK tourism industry, work hard to put things in context.
"London is still one of the greatest cities in the world with an enviable record of safety. It's important we stress that these developments are not typical".
The European Tour Operators Association said London remained safe for tourists. "The events have been largely confined to secondary shopping centres in the suburbs.So long as the damage is contained outside of central London, then there will be little long-term impact on demand for London as a tourist destination." Deborah Griffin, director of Deloitte's leisure corporate finance advisory team, said any slowdown would not be as bad as th one that followed the 7 July terrorist attacks in 2005. "It's certainly not good. All of it has been flashed around the world and that will put people off, but normally people's memories are quite short-term so it should not have a long-term impact." And here is the ad that Americans and the rest of the world won't see meantime: