In a video posted online on Sunday (2 November), the comedian Ricky Gervais said he was “f***ing sick and tired with the ‘powers that be’ for banning my f***ing billboards and adverts for Dutch Barn Vodka”.
That followed a series of posts in which Gervais posted mock-ups of billboards for the brand on a Tube platform, featuring the star holding a glass alongside slogans such as “Drugs this good are usually illegal” and “Don’t jump, you’ll make everyone late for work, you selfish prick!”
A particularly controversial billboard had the strapline: “Welcome to London, don’t forget your stab vest.”
The star, who is a co-owner of Dutch Barn, said “sometimes there’s nothing wrong” with the ads. Although he didn’t name TfL specifically in the video, he described those behind the decision not to allow the ads as “cowardly f***ing c***s”.
In a video posted online on Sunday (2 November), the comedian Ricky Gervais said he was “f***ing sick and tired with the ‘powers that be’ for banning my f***ing billboards and adverts for Dutch Barn Vodka”.
That followed a series of posts in which Gervais posted mock-ups of billboards for the brand on a Tube platform, featuring the star holding a glass alongside slogans such as “Drugs this good are usually illegal” and “Don’t jump, you’ll make everyone late for work, you selfish prick!”
A particularly controversial billboard had the strapline: “Welcome to London, don’t forget your stab vest.”
The star, who is a co-owner of Dutch Barn, said “sometimes there’s nothing wrong” with the ads. Although he didn’t name TfL specifically in the video, he described those behind the decision not to allow the ads as “cowardly f***ing c***s”.
However, a TfL spokesperson said: “These adverts were never referred to TfL or their advertising partners for consideration. Alternative creatives for Dutch Barn have been accepted and are running on our network.”
The mock ads had been criticised for being insensitive and in poor taste, especially the one that referenced stabbing, given the high-profile knife attack on a London-bound train on Saturday evening.
Writing on X, TV presenter Narinder Kaur shared the image and said: “Extremely disappointing from Ricky Gervais.”
She later added: “This man is fast turning into Jeremy Clarkson – arrogant and vile. Desperate to sell his crappy vodka. Whilst sat in London without his ‘stab-proof vest on’.”
Others were less critical. Owen Williams, co-founder of creative agency Sixredsquares, posted on LinkedIn: “Isn’t the most important thing that it’s got us all talking about knife crime?
“Knife crime statistics make for terrible reading and the events of the past week have further heightened fears. It’s a very real problem. It may have been pulled by London Underground, but it’s making us face an uncomfortable truth that shouldn’t be swept under the carpet. If it leads to education and positive action, then it’s served a much higher purpose than promoting vodka.”
David Cross, MD of Axion Strategic, said the ads are “genius” from a “marketing standpoint”.
“This whole saga, the campaign being launched, the ad being banned, and then Ricky going online to vent his frustrations with their ads constantly being disallowed, has been a beautiful combination of great strategy, celebrity, and timing that no one could have foreseen.”
