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UK Heinz Beans Ad Banned Over Safety Fears
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• 1:02
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
A childhood song calls beans the magical fruit for their ability to create sounds, if you catch my drift. But Britain's Advertising Standards Authority says ads for Heinz beans in the UK can no longer show people tapping a tune on a can of beans. The commercial showed happy baked-bean eaters keeping time to a song on cans of Heinz baked beans.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing) Come warm your bones.
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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Singing) Make yourself at home. Darling, smile...
SIMON: The ad also invited viewers to learn the can song for themselves. By the way, the ad seems pretty directly inspired by a scene in the 2012 film "Pitch Perfect" about a college a-cappella group. The Advertising Authority says children could be tempted to imitate the song and accidentally cut themselves on the jagged edges of an empty can. The Heinz Company disagrees but says the two-month ad campaign is over in any case. But the song goes on.
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UNIDENTIFIED MEN: (Singing) Oh, we all need love - that sweet, sweet love - that makes us whole again. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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