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Twinings distances itself from Poundland's lewd £25 Christmas social campaign

Twinings has denied involvement in a controversial tweet from discount retailer Poundland in which an elf was pictured ‘teabagging’ a female doll.

The post, which appeared on the retailer’s Twitter account on Thursday (21 December), has sparked backlash from both social media users and Twinings, the tea brand which inadvertently found itself featuring in the ad.

Twinings has accused Poundland of “misusing” its product.

In a statement on Twitter it said: “We are aware of an image that is circulating that misuses our product. We had no involvement in this and it is obviously not reflective of our brand values.”

Shortly after Twinings’ tweet was posted, Poundland responded by reposting the image without the tea brand, alongside a tweet which read: “Spot the difference..”

It poked further fun at the controversey generated by the initial image with a tweet this morning (22 December) in which the elf is seen scrolling through the brand’s Twitter account and holding a mug with the caption “What a storm in a teacup”.

The tweet is the latest rendition of Poundland’s long-running #ElfBehavingBadly campaign that has been running throughout December. 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received a number of complaints about the posts which depict the elf in a series of sexually explicit positions.

Some users enquired if the account had been hacked.

Mark Pym, the brand’s marketing director, said he was proud of the campaign which cost a reported £25.53 to deliver, according to the International Business Times. 

There was also some marketing flattery chucked into the mix.

Further to this, there was a debate as to whether journalists should be pursuing this story. The jury is out on that one.

This story was updated on 22 December

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Twinings distances itself from Poundland's lewd £25 Christmas social campaign

Twinings has denied involvement in a controversial tweet from discount retailer Poundland in which an elf was pictured ‘teabagging’ a female doll.

The post, which appeared on the retailer’s Twitter account on Thursday (21 December), has sparked backlash from both social media users and Twinings, the tea brand which inadvertently found itself featuring in the ad.

Twinings has accused Poundland of “misusing” its product.

In a statement on Twitter it said: “We are aware of an image that is circulating that misuses our product. We had no involvement in this and it is obviously not reflective of our brand values.”

Shortly after Twinings’ tweet was posted, Poundland responded by reposting the image without the tea brand, alongside a tweet which read: “Spot the difference..”

It poked further fun at the controversey generated by the initial image with a tweet this morning (22 December) in which the elf is seen scrolling through the brand’s Twitter account and holding a mug with the caption “What a storm in a teacup”.

The tweet is the latest rendition of Poundland’s long-running #ElfBehavingBadly campaign that has been running throughout December. 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received a number of complaints about the posts which depict the elf in a series of sexually explicit positions.

Some users enquired if the account had been hacked.

Mark Pym, the brand’s marketing director, said he was proud of the campaign which cost a reported £25.53 to deliver, according to the International Business Times. 

There was also some marketing flattery chucked into the mix.

Further to this, there was a debate as to whether journalists should be pursuing this story. The jury is out on that one.

This story was updated on 22 December

[Read More …]

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Are biometrics a safe way to speed up airport security?

Clear CEO Caryn Seidman Becker answers all your privacy questions on the latest Too Embarrassed to Ask.

If you’re reading this while stuck in an interminable TSA line at the airport: Sorry!

Everyone else: Caryn Seidman Becker wants to scan your finger. As the CEO of Clear, which she bought out of bankruptcy in 2010, she has overseen the company’s expansion beyond airport security into new venues, using encrypted scans of customers’ fingerprints and irises to authenticate them at several sports stadiums and — in some airports — at spots like the bag drop, airport lounges and the gate.

“You should take nothing out of your bag or your wallet when you go through the airport,” Seidman Becker said on the latest episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask. “You are you and that’s what you’re trying to prove 10 times over at the ticketing gate, at the agent. That’s what we’re building.”

Of course, using these biological traits, or biometrics, to verify a person’s identity makes some people nervous. Seidman Becker stressed that everyone’s data is securely encrypted and that no one other than Clear has access to it.

“We do not sell or share your data,” she said. “That is rule one. What your biometrics are in that case is a frequent flyer number. All we’re sending to Delta is your frequent flyer number, which is doing a match with all the other things they have, and they send back a ticket.”

You can listen to the new podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

On the new podcast, Seidman Becker also talked about why the company uses fingerprint and eyeball scans, but not facial recognition, at airports. Although it’s testing or using 3-D volumetric scanning in some places, Clear doesn’t currently think that technology can match the 99.999 percent accuracy rate of fingerprints.

“Facial, for the highest security purposes, is not ready for the ‘five nines,’” she said. “In busy areas, depending on the lighting, depending on various things, you still need multi-factor authentication for facial.”

In other words: You might have to also pull out your ID or scan your fingerprint, which would defeat the convenience of just scanning your face.

Looking toward the future, Seidman Becker said biometric security will be crucial for a lot of different industries — not just travel.

“When you think about health care, when you think about vehicles, you think about ‘you are your driver’s license, you are your insurance, you are your payment,’” she said. “In the connected, shared or autonomous vehicle, identity is the key.”

Have questions about biometrics or Clear that we didn’t get to in this episode? Tweet them to @Recode with the hashtag #TooEmbarrassed, or email them to TooEmbarrassed@recode.net.

Be sure to follow @LaurenGoode, @KaraSwisher and @Recode to be alerted when we’re looking for questions about a specific topic.

If you like this show, you should also check out our other podcasts:

  • Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, is a weekly show featuring in-depth interviews with the movers and shakers in tech and media every Monday. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
  • Recode Media with Peter Kafka features no-nonsense conversations with the smartest and most interesting people in the media world, with new episodes every Thursday. Use these links to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
  • And finally, Recode Replay has all the audio from our live events, such as the Code Conference, Code Media and the Code Commerce Series. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you like what we’re doing, please write a review on Apple Podcasts — and if you don’t, just tweet-strafe Kara and Lauren. Tune in next Friday for another episode of Too Embarrassed to Ask!

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Telaria To Sell Olympics-Related Streaming Video Packages

With premium TV-video inventory still in high demand, video ad-tech company Telaria — formerly Tremor Media — will offer exclusive streaming of the Winter Olympics ad inventory through a private
marketplace exchange.

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ANA: In-House Programmatic Buying More Than Doubles, Agencies Becoming Marginalized

A year after the Association of National Advertisers benchmarked programmatic media-buying among the nation’s largest advertisers, the percentage who say they have brought it in-house and are reducing
the role of their agencies has more than doubled. That’s the top line finding of the 2017 edition of “The State of Programmatic Media Buying,” released this morning by the ANA.

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Who Pays The Price For The Loss Of Net Neutrality?

Big digital video companies, among others, are concerned about the change — in particular its impact on traditional media/ communication owners now in the driver’s seat.

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Google News To Delist Publications That Intentionally Mislead Readers, Mask Country Of Origin

Artificial intelligence will determine whether a publisher has broken Google News rules. An “algorithmic or manual spam” filter will determine the removal. The guidelines specifically address
misrepresentation, and would ban sites from serving up in Google news that intentionally mislead readers.

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Disney, Partner Marketing Lifts 'Last Jedi' To Box-Office Records

“Jedi” posted an eye-popping $220 million in U.S. box office receipts — the second-highest haul ever for a U.S. film on an opening weekend.

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ESPN's President Skipper Resigns Due To Substance Abuse, Bodenheimer Returns

Skipper has been president since January 2012. Bodenheimer, former president and executive chairman of ESPN, will take over as acting chairman for 90 days as ESPN searches for a new successor.