Posted on 03/27/2019 1:34:29 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Cadbury has temporarily pulled its "real treasure hunt" ad campaign after archaeologists and the government accused it of advocating looting.
The Treasure Island ads encouraged children to "grab your metal detector and go hunting for Roman riches", but failed to warn that digging without permission is illegal. It suggested a number of sites across the UK and Ireland where "treasure's fair game".
The confectioner took the online ad site down on Monday after being inundated with messages from archaeologists who described the campaign as "irresponsible" - a view endorsed by the government. The arts minister, Michael Ellis, said the ad risked undermining rules to protect heritage.
The Advertising Standards Authority said it had received about 30 complaints and was assessing whether to launch an investigation.
Cadbury said: "Cadbury Freddo Treasures aims to inspire families to go on everyday adventures together. It was not our intention to encourage anyone to break existing regulations regarding the discovery of new archaeological artefacts and we are grateful this matter has been brought to our attention.
"We can now confirm that the webpage has been taken down and we are updating the content to focus solely on directing families to museums where existing treasures can be found."
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Scan...Shovel...Shut Up.
This is a bit like saying “Go get a job,” and then not giving all of the instances of making money that are either illegal or immoral. The legality and morality of it are implied, are they not?
It seems to me that treasure hunting with the family is a wonderful way to spend family time. We find arrowheads and other various stuff on the farm where we live. Good clean fun.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.