Poundland Elf Teabagging advert splits the internet

Poundland Elf Teabagging advert splits the internet

What was PoundLand thinking with their latest Elf advert? 

Poundland has had what can only be described as a mental aneurysm, when considering its latest Elf advert. It has shared a number of adverts showing an elf being naughty.

Its most recent advent, posted on 21 December, shows the elf hanging a teabag on Barbie’s face, a refernce to the sexual act of ‘teabagging’. The caption reads: “How do you take your tea, one lump or two?”

The crude ad has seriously hit a nerve with some members of the British public. Multiple Twitter users even asked if the brand’s account had been hacked, but a social media spokesperson confirmed that it hadn’t.

In a statement to HuffPost UK, Poundland defended the advert, which cost £25.53 to produce, revealing: “You should see the ones we didn’t post.”

Twinings Tea’s tea bag played a key role in the controversy, but the tea brand has tried distance itself from the badly behaved elf’s antics, tweeting its disapproval of the advert.

“We are aware of an image that is circulating that misuses our product. This is to confirm that we had no involvement in this and that it is obviously not reflective of our brand values,” Twinings Tea tweet.

Mark Pym, Poundland’s marketing director, actually stood by the brand’s decision to run the campaign.

He said, “If you think this is edgy, you should see the ones we didn’t post. The love on Facebook is overwhelming - that’s because it connects with our shoppers.

“In fact, we’re proud of a campaign that only cost £25.53 and is being touted as the winning marketing campaign this Christmas.”

In the campaign, the budget retailer's festive Elf has been seen playing strip poker and fighting Darth Vader with a dildo. Here's everything we know about the bizarre Christmas marketing campaign

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