Nick Griffin’s racist BNP is facing financial ruin after featuring Marmite in an election broadcast.
The party was hit with a massive claim – estimated at up to £170,000 – over the TV stunt, in which leader Griffin was pictured beside a huge jar of the spread. The party then showed a jar of Marmite – slogan “Love it or hate it” – with its own motto “Love Britain Vote BNP”.
Griffin claimed he intended the film as a humorous dig at Marmite, who he believed had mocked the BNP in their online and TV ads featuring a “Love Party” and their rivals the “Hate Party”, whose leader appeared to be loosely based on Griffin.
But bosses at Marmite makers Unilever were furious at the BNP broadcast and began High Court proceedings for breach of copyright.
The BNP caved in and the amount claimed is put by insiders at between £70,000 and £170,000. Former National Organiser Eddy Butler has said the BNP is “on the brink of bankruptcy”.
And last night a spokesman for anti-racism group Searchlight said: “The Marmite fiasco has been a disaster from start to finish for Griffin.”
Unilever confirmed a settlement had been reached but said the terms were confidential.
Sunday Mirror
Time for BNP members to dig deep yet again!
ReplyDeleteIs it true that the film was made in Sheffield? I read somewhere - maybe on here - a couple of months ago that it was filmed in the Heeley/Gleadless area. Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteWell, we can laugh at the BNP's misfortune, although we should remember that a party with such policies should always be beaten politically and not financially.
ReplyDeleteThe lesson we should take from the BNP's Marmite blunder is that it should teach us - confirm to us - how paranoid, vindictive and stupid the BNP leadership really are. They just couldn't accept Marmite's own advert as a joke and a bit of veiled criticism without taking it as a vicious attack that needed to avenged!
So, stupidly, they decided to exact that 'revenge' by displaying the Marmite jar on their own broadcast. And now it's backfired. But do you know what? The BNP will not have learned one single lesson from this, because they are too warped with anger and hatred to think logically.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteIs it true that the film was made in Sheffield? I read somewhere - maybe on here - a couple of months ago that it was filmed in the Heeley/Gleadless area. Anyone know?
It doesn't look like it and I live in that area. The Mosque isn't the one on Wolseley Road as that is built out of yellow brick. In one of the street scenes it looks like a shop in the background has a Glasgow phone number and I don't recognise anything else in the vid.
"Well, we can laugh at the BNP's misfortune, although we should remember that a party with such policies should always be beaten politically and not financially."
ReplyDeleteWhen the American law enforcement authorities couldn't get enough evidence to convict Al Capone for his Mafia gangster activities, what finally put him away? Tax evasion charges. Following the money is often the most effective way.
What is important is that the BNP is defeated. Yes the politics that gave rise to the BNP need to be defeated as well, but if the BNP goes, it will take a long time for another racist party to achieve the support the BNP has achieved.
Why did Unilever enter into a confidentiality agreement? they had Griffin stone cold bang to rights, there should have been no way he could call any shots and insist on such an agreement.
ReplyDeleteBut that agreement should not prevent members of his own party, whose money it is after all, demanding to know how much it cost them.
tulip
" They just couldn't accept Marmite's own advert as a joke and a bit of veiled criticism without taking it as a vicious attack that needed to avenged! "
ReplyDeleteIndeed, this is a typical example of the paranoia and anger management issues which are so common umongst the bnp and edl leaderships. Sometimes it manifests itself in angry outbursts and others in acts of complete and utter stupidity.