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THE UK’S ADVERTISING watchdog has received almost 100 complaints over the latest ad campaign by Channel 4 to promote the newest series of the popular documentary series, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.
The billboard campaign, which features the slogan “Bigger. Fat. Gypsier”, printed over images of Travellers led the London Gypsy and Traveller Unit, as well as two London assembly members, to lodge complaints with the country’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Critics say that the use of the word “Gypsier” is offensive and racist, reports the BBC.
In a letter to the ASA, Gill Brown, from the London Gypsy and Travellers Unit, asked:
We wonder if Channel 4 would have been so ready to use adverts with similarly compromising images phrasing for other ethnic groups: ‘Jewisher’ or ‘more Asian’ or ‘Blacker’?
Meanwhile, writing in the Guardian, Irish Traveller Christine Cawley described the tone of the adverts as “mocking” and said that the campaign “seems to be using who we are against us in a way that feels very hard to take.”
Cawley argued that the series in general was presenting an ” untrue or untypical image” of her community. ”The public don’t understand that we are more mainstream than they think. We work, our kids go to local schools, we go to church, we even have views about politics!” she writes.
However, Channel 4 has defended the use of the term, saying: “The word ‘gypsier’ refers to the fact that this series offers even greater access and insight to the communities featured, and the terms ‘gypsy’ or ‘gypsier’ are not being used in a negative context.”
Channel 4 said that the slogan was a play on the well-established original title of the series – which was itself “a spoof of the title of a well-known Hollywood film”. Furthermore, the channel said that everyone featured in the campaign had seen and approved of the posters.
“All images were taken with full consent and all aspects of the poster campaign fully comply with advertising guidelines,” Channel 4 said.
The ASA is reviewing the case.
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Watched this show the other night and it was offensive to every sense. I’ll be tuning in next week for definite.
Cash dispenser, digger, richer
I saw the same show, it was sickening to see them display that amount of wealth….. I wonder how much tax they have paid towards the society they say discriminates against them so much!!!
The tax clearance cert is in the post
Didn’t you see the groom in limerick had his face blacked out. Lives in Spain, drives range rovers and porches these people are in no way indicative of most travellers in ireland. Living, uneducated in abject poverty on the fringes of society.
Totally agree with you Rob. I’m from near where the programme was filmed in Limerick and yes, there are incredible displays of wealth but other Travellers would never have that amount of money. I have worked with Irish Travellers in North London and would be in contact with other groups from around Britain. The Travelling community in Leeds were offered alot of money to take part in the show and they declined, saying that it didn’t depict their true way of life. It just goes to show, Channel 4 just want to show the more outrageous aspects of the culture….and it works, the figures tell that for themselves.
I can answer the tax question, fuck all!
Absolute idiots whoever reported it.. So they are okay with the fact that it’s called ‘Gypsy’ but not ‘Gypsier’
Gimme a break… absolute idiots!
Gypsier isn’t a word just as Irishier wouldn’t be ,but if it’s intent in “more gypsy like” then it can’t be racist as that would infer that to act like a gypsy is seen as bad by those who see themselves as gypsies that’s a big fat oxymoron !
The people in this show ( regardless of their ethnic background ) made prise tits of themselves of their own free will. Why then be surprised when some one raises the bar to get ratings ?
When you say “prise” tits Martin, is that how they got into the dresses. Painful.
Racism towards the poor aul travellers. They should be all compensated with increased tax credits. Pineapple dresses and tarmac in Spain, it’s there tradition you know!
Don’t mock the ancient tradition of pineapple and palm tree dresses. I remember years and years ago seeing travellers wearing them while on their day to day business, simpler times
We should all become gypsies. Feck work, I want a Porsche. Only u settled mugs pay tax and worry about health care and what not.
If the word “gypsy” is okay to use then why not “gypsier” to describe the program? After watching the show I think the word “gypsier” and a few pictures is the least of their image problems.
Working full time and struggling with bills, I had an ephiphany watching BFGW the other night. I’ve since given up my full time job, invested in a pineapple style flamenco dress and taken to hanging around halting sites waiting to be “grabbed”…Carlsberg don’t do lifestyles…
Jokers, amazing how no one is complaining how these lads are paying for such elaborate occasions with their “legitimate” businesses
I bet you could make another TV programme or two on the ” business” side of their lives !
Saw the show and felt sad at what the the lack of education can do to a group of people. They are the same Race as us but choose to live as they do for whatever reason. On the darker side, I noticed that most of the men had their faces blurred out, Tradition ?
The reason, they say, that they have their faces blurred out is so they can conduct their business, whatever it may be without prejudice.
I think it has more to do with not being identofied by the tax people or the police.
If they include themselves in a programme about their culture on the basis that they know what it is about and have seen the first series then they cannot complain when the production company making the series uses more sensationlist advertising.
If you fly with the crowes you get shot with the crowes…
Or the crows even.
Why is it always people that cry racism are not from that particular group. Maybe I’m wrong but Gill Brown doesn’t sound very much like a traveler name. You see happening here all the time too.
Now that in itself is a racist remark.
Probably is, it just shows how PC mad the world has gone when you can’t say where think someone is from based on their name for the fear of being labeled a racist.
Hey Diego, your names not typically Irish. Where are you originally from? What’s the Irish equivalent of your name? Just making your original point stronger!
Well Attley is originally from England and I changed my first name on Facebook incase anyone checks up on me when applying for a job. I hear it’s done all the time.
If I said your family was originally Welsh would it be racist?
Germany gets a taste of Irish Travellers.
http://www.joe.ie/news-politics/current-affairs/arrests-made-after-irish-travellers-rampage-through-cologne-0011756-1
[Reports also told of open drug taking, bars being smashed up and dirty nappies being left on pub tables.]
“It’s our culture, lave us alone would ya?”
Well done Kevin, a news story dated April last year. *slow clap
Sorry Danny. It must have never happened then. My apologies. /throws out all books dated pre-2012.
do a little more research into that story there chap and you’ll find they were mostly English, if you find the proper Bild article that was robbed from it’s mentioned. However, I still fail to see the relevance to this article here.
I must agree you with you Danny.
You HAVE failed. You’re honest if nothing else.
Did any of these complaints come from travellers? I’m just curious because the participants in the programme seemed more than happy to participate.
Beep Beep!! “Move outta the way, it’s the Bleeding Hearts Brigade”.
Alot of Travellers did not want to be on the show. As I have said in an above comment, I know that the Irish Travelling community in Leeds totally declined to be featured, and not out of tax dodging purposes like some people might say but they felt that the show was very negative towards them. Contrary to popular opinion, Travellers have to pay council tax in Britain. In North London, alot of the Travellers don’t like the show…there was an article written by a lady who criticised it on the Guardian the other day. Not a member of the Bleeding Heart Brigade and I’m aware that I’ll get the red thumbs for this comment, just trying to share my knowledge and experience with others on this forum.
Btw the pineapple dress was true genius, I hope Lady Gaga was watching!!!
@Anne-Marie.
Fair enough, perhaps many travellers DID refuse to be on the programme. But, Irish travellers don’t pay tax, and a lot of them on the programme were Irish. Also, the women’s faces we could see, the men though, they were all hidden. I don’t believe it’s because of tax, I believe many are on the run from the Garda.
Just think of what other types of tv programmes have to blur out certain faces.
Have you any ideas about how they make enough money to afford top of the range 4X4′s and brand-new sportscars? Not to mention the wedding dresses and cakes and other paraphernalia which obviously costs a fortune.
Yes Kevin you’re correct, most of the people featured on the show are Irish Travellers, or of Irish Traveller stock. And I was dubious about the blurring of faces aswell. Alot of Irish Travellers come back to places like Rathkeale for their holidays but their permanent settlement is in England, of which they are pressed by law to pay council tax. The wealth on display was pretty disgusting but I’m just trying to give a balanced picture here…take it from me, not all Travellers live like those driving Porsches and the like.
Just a thought.. Would living in a trailer not be far cheaper than a house?
I may be way off the mark, I really don’t know and it’s not my place to assume.. It’s just, no mortgage or rent to pay? That’s a lot of extra cash in your pocket..
What I find offensive about that series is that there are never any gypsies in it, Gypsies are from Romania…or are at least Roma, the people in this are just 2nd or 3rd generation Irish tinkers, no gypsies at all….is it ok to say tinkers? It is where I’m from, or it is travellers or maybe itinerants? They’ve have a different word for themselves every few years and I never know which one is PC enough.
They are all decended from migrants from India who settled in Europe. They were mistakenly called GYPsies in the belief they came fron eGYPt.
Thanks for that Lamb..I often.wondered where the term.came from
“Saw the show and felt sad at what the the lack of education can do to a group of people.”
Agree. There was a girl talking to the camera while she cleaned the skirting boards, about 14 or 15. She seemed like a nice girl and I remember wondering, “would she like some books, an education?”
The women have no rights, while the men can do WHATEVER they like. The men can have ‘relations’ with lots of women, even settled. The women have to stay virgins until they meet their traveller husband-to-be. Usually aged 16. Once married their life is basically over. It is sad. There are cases of traveller women escaping the life. I reckon it takes a lot of courage to leave that ‘lifestyle’.
Funniest show on TV. I would love to be a palm tree or a pineapple on my wedding day!
Bless…
Ya have to watch it. Ireland could generate a whole new tourism idea by promoting ‘the Gypsy wedding season’ in Rathkeel. Hilarious
You see i would have thought the first day ever that calling a traveller, a gyspy would have been an issue?
How is the word “Gypsier” so offensive when they don’t seem to be pissed off that an hour of tv is dedicated to people laughing at their culture?
Hahahahahhahahaahhaha F*&%K sake Hahahhhahaha
100 people lodged complaints because of the use of the word ‘gypsier?’ Jesus, they’ve clearly never spent a Saturday night down my neck of the woods! Their delicate disposition would fall apart altogether!!!!
If I posted my thoughts and feelings my comments would be removed in sure!! I wonder why!!
in.fairness..the participants in.tjis show do themselves no.favours. all is not rosy in the traveller world but by God some of their community are working damn hard within.and without to change things. programmes like this and the one about the house of commons speakers wife meeting paddy are pandering to the discriminatory side of human nature..and tubridy was no better featuring this on.his show. sure therevare criminals in their community..indeed domevare even modern day slavers..but there are vile viscious creepscin.the settled community too. lot of the comments here are pretty insensitive as there is no.balance
sorry for typos lest the perfect english grammar brigade denounce me!
No prob dob, A.C.A.B ok lol
God you are sad..i pity you
Colm 100% right . Good and bad every where .There are some great workers from the travelling community
doing great things to improve their lot.
Joxer D ….Pathetic comment !
Gypsier?
I can think of a worse word to call them
kn@ck3r
Ah leave the gypsys alone will you , sure are they not , part of what we are, top of the mornin to ya ,, begorrah,begorrah, pigs in the parlour etc !!!!!!!!Also bigots who criticize others for not spelling words correctly should check their own grammar first, aka Grieve ,identofied, crowes, silly little dob you are!!
maybe you should check your own grammar joxer. gypsys is actually spelled GYPSIES.
silly little jockstrap you are!!!!!
still spewing hatred there I see Joxer…just cant take you seriously you rant about bigots and then engage in.bigotry
Joxer is there no low your warped mind wont sink to…using the heroic athletes of the special olympics movement to try and score cheap points…disgusting
once again the media subjects a minority group to ‘entertainment’ and by the outrage caused, have inadvertaintly caused further sporadic attacks against those we know very little ‘fact’ about. Ashamed you should be and better to begin to right the wrongs you perpetrated.I could allow my cynisism to get the better of me and believe the program makers knew the so called ‘facts’ presented were lies, but I have to believe that mistakes were made unintentionally and the ‘entertainment’ got from the bizarre array of charecters ran away with common sense.Time and the real story of why this was allowed to be aired as factual will become apparent ,unfortunately it has caused real damage to an already victimised minority, though only morons will use it to continue with their racial hatred ,learned from their parents and the stupidity of the media wanting more controversy and bloodletting.
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