Gourmet Burger Kitchen pulls adverts from Tube network after backlash from vegetarians

Under fire: vegetarians have reacted angrily to GBK's advertising campaign

18 January 2016

A well-known burger chain pulled adverts from the Tube network amid a backlash from vegetarians.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen was inundated with complaints after launching a campaign urging people to give up on vegetarianism.

One of the adverts which sparked controvery featured a picture of a young cow alongside the caption: "They eat grass so you don’t have to."

Another said: "You always remember the time you gave up being vegetarian", and a third carried a picture of a large burger with the slogan "Vegetarians, resistance is futile."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegetarianism?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegetarianism?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#vegetarianism</a> is not a trend that you give up for a crappy burger <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/gbkburgers" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/gbkburgers" data-vars-event-id="c23">@gbkburgers</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/Ej98PSG25A" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://t.co/Ej98PSG25A" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/Ej98PSG25A</a> — Rebecca (@RebeccaPari) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/RebeccaPari/status/687942992204820480" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/RebeccaPari/status/687942992204820480" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 15, 2016</a>

Angry vegetarians and vegans told of their anger at the adverts on Twitter.

Harriet Layhe wrote: "It seems veganism on the rise when marketing takes a pathetically desperate turn for the crass."

Eleanor Rudd posted: "Loved GBK but apparently we're not welcome."

And Maria Chiorando tweeted: "Can't help but wonder how wise it was to alienate all veggies and vegans with the latest ad campaign."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Can't help but wonder how wise it was to alienate all veggies and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegans?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegans?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#vegans</a> with the latest ad campaign <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gourmetmurderkitchen?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/gourmetmurderkitchen?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#gourmetmurderkitchen</a> — Maria Chiorando (@mariachiorando) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/mariachiorando/status/688823860683239424" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/mariachiorando/status/688823860683239424" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 17, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/gbkburgers" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/gbkburgers" data-vars-event-id="c23">@gbkburgers</a> Loved GBK but apparently we're not welcome <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegetarian?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegetarian?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#vegetarian</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegan?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/vegan?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#vegan</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/resistanceisfutile?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/resistanceisfutile?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#resistanceisfutile</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ieatgrasswiththem?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/ieatgrasswiththem?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#ieatgrasswiththem</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/jRY7cdyhtz" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://t.co/jRY7cdyhtz" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/jRY7cdyhtz</a> — EleanorRudd (@EleanorRudd) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/EleanorRudd/status/688335625972518913" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/EleanorRudd/status/688335625972518913" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 16, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">It seems veganism on the rise when marketing takes a pathetically desperate turn for the crass <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/goodluckwiththat?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/goodluckwiththat?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#goodluckwiththat</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gourmetmurderkitchen?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/hashtag/gourmetmurderkitchen?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#gourmetmurderkitchen</a> — Harriet Layhe (@HarrietLayhe) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/HarrietLayhe/status/688553397348380673" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159231-https://twitter.com/HarrietLayhe/status/688553397348380673" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 17, 2016</a>

A spokeswoman for GBK told the Standard that some of the adverts would be changed in response to the negative response the company had received.

She said: "Our new adverts have purely light-hearted intentions and were not meant to cause any offence.

"We've been serving beef as a core part of our menu for the last 15 years and whist we’re carnivores at heart, we have an extensive range of vegetarian options available.

"We value our vegetarian customers and their views, and have therefore made the decision to change some of our ads."

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Gourmet Burger Kitchen pulls adverts from Tube network after backlash from vegetarians

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