'It's political correctness gone mad': Darlington pub's German night advert banned over Nazi imagery

Defiant: the Buck Inn's owner said the night was 'hugely successful'
Google
Tom Powell10 January 2018

Two Facebook posts by a village pub have been banned for using Nazi imagery to advertise a German food night.

The Buck Inn in Darlington, County Durham, advertised its German night with a picture of a swastika-wearing Nazi soldier and the line: "Don't Mention Ze War!"

The pub’s owner Craig Harker described the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) ruling as “political correctness gone mad” – highlighting the fact only three people complained despite 500,000 seeing it.

But the ASA claimed the text of the headline and the colour scheme resembled the "stylisation and colours typical of Nazi imagery".

The poster was banned for using Nazi imagery and 'trivialising' the Second World War
PA

The pub also ‘liked’ a number of comments, many of which contained jokes and puns in reference to the Holocaust, made by readers in relation to the posts.

"We considered that the use of an image of a Nazi soldier wearing a swastika and performing a Nazi salute to advertise the pub's German cuisine night, in a humorous tone, was inappropriate and trivialised the events of the Second World War and actions of the German Nazi party," the ASA said.

"Furthermore, the ad appeared to link German culture intrinsically with Nazi Germany and the war."

The Buck Inn said the original post was inspired by an episode of Fawlty Towers and was intended to be lighthearted and humorous. They said it was not intended to "mock" the Second World War in any way.

Buck Inn owner Craig Harker said: "This is political correctness gone mad. The world's gone absolutely bonkers if this is deemed offensive. It's a poster for a German night which was hugely successful.

"The regulars laughed it off and took the poster in the lighthearted, fun way that I intended. As long as business is good I'll continue to market my businesses however I see fit and let the PC brigade continue to do their jobs."

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