Tesco Mobile has apologised for any offence caused and said it was simply trying to 'reflect the frustration' customers face with rising bills.
The adverts have been banned. Credit: Tesco Mobile
The digital versions featured the words: "What a load of shiit," before a mushroom rolled away to reveal the full message of: "What a load of shiitake."
Another stated: "They’re taking the pistachio."
The advert in question. Credit: Tesco Mobile
The adverts were promoting Tesco Mobile's fixed price phone contracts.
Some people complained that the adverts were offensive because words like 'shiitake', 'pistachio' and 'fettucine' alluded to expletives, and were displayed in places where they might be seen by children.
The ASA ruled: “'Sh*t' and 'p*ss' were words so likely to offend that they should not generally be used or alluded to in advertising, regardless of whether they were used in a tongue-in-cheek manner."
A Tesco Mobile spokeswoman said: "We're really sorry for any offence caused. We know the frustration that consumers face when they notice their mobile phone bill has gone up mid-contract and we were reflecting their frustration - and ours - in these ads.
"We're proud to offer our mobile customers supermarket value, and so we used a play on words relating to food products."
Featured image:Unsplash
News
Vinyl-only 1970s-inspired cocktail bar coming to Leeds from team behind some of the city’s best bars
A new cocktail bar is coming to Leeds city centre.
If you know a thing or two about cocktails, or just drinks in general, then you're going to be very excited about this news.
The very talented team behind Roland's on Call Lane and The Domino Club, just to name a few, are setting their sites on a brand-new venture.
Introducing Paper Plane, an intimate new cocktail bar that will be taking over the old Casa site in the city's beautiful Grand Arcade.
Paper Plane will be inspired by the glamour of 1970s air travel and will be a vinyl-only listening bar, serving a world-inspired cocktail menu alongside a carefully curated whisky collection.
The space will be lovely and intimate, with around just 40 covers, designed to transport guests somewhere completely different from the minute they step foot through the door.
And what a location too, joining a whole host of fantastic independents in the arcade such as Alfonso's Deli, Stuzzi and Sonder.
For now, we don't know many more details about the project, but we already know it's going to be exceptional cas anything these guys do turns to gold.
Not only has Roland's been consistently one of the busiest bars on Call Lane since they opened back in 2014, but The Domino Club was recently crowned one of the best cocktail bars in the world. Now that is some accolade worth shouting about.
We'll keep you updated with Paper Plane's progress, but Roland's have stated that the site is hoping to open this coming autumn. So we really don't have long to wait.
When Yorkshire is due to get hot as a fourth heatwave of the year hits the UK
Danny Jones
Yes, ANOTHER heatwave is set to hit the UK - the fourth in 2026 so far - and, understandably, Yorkshire residents are already preparing for the latest blast of hot weather and wondering when it arrives.
Yes, in case you missed the news, more high temperatures are set to spread across the UK and Ireland this month and heading into August.
The increase will gradually build throughout this week, with Wednesday tipped to be the hottest day according to various meteorologists.
While Yorkshire thankfully isn't quite slated to get the sweatiest, parts of the Midlands and the usual suspects down south are set to hit the highest numbers, but the thermometers are still on course to reach around the mid-20s over the coming days.
Estimates of 26°C were predicted for this coming Tuesday, with the levels floating in and around 24/25 on the following Wednesday.
The heat is then due to drop off slowly, with top scores of no higher than 21°C on the cards for Thursday and Friday. Although the weekend forecast is less certain at present, one thing that has been announced is reduced rainfall.
Aside from a few more trickles today (Mon, 27 July), the showers or lack thereof cease rather soon, with some of the driest parts of the country already having various effects; for instance, parched parts of Wales have even revealed lost archaeological sites last Friday (24/7/2026).
It would be remiss if we didn't mention the obvious moorland fires across our region, which were sadly exacerbated by hot weather earlier this month.
At least it'll be a bit cooler here than in other parts of the country. ☀️
Daisy Jackson -
11th May 2022 
