07/06/2010 Dispute over Marmite

Consumer brand manufacturer Unilever is unhappy about an ad produced by the British National Party (BNP) featuring a jar of Marmite, a trademark marketed by the Anglo-Dutch firm.

Legal action
In an article which appeared on the BBC website, Unilever announced it was considering legal action against the far right-wing party. The ad shows a jar of Marmite at the top-left of the screen while BNP leader Nick Griffin addresses the camera.

Hate party
Griffin claimed that the ad was a response to a recent commercial for Marmite depicting two political parties, the Love Party and the Hate Party. According to Griffin, the Hate Party was clearly based on the BNP. ‘Quite simply, if you start a spoof, you should expect to get spoofed’, Griffin added.

Political association
In its statement, Unilever said it did not want Marmite or any other Unilever trademark to be associated with a political party, and accused the BNP of infringing its trademark rights. Shortly afterwards, the BNP removed the ad from its website.