Tesco removes Mel B advert after Spice Girls star complains
Tesco has removed an advert featuring an image of Spice Girls star Mel B after the singer complained about its use.
The advert for Tesco’s new Clubcard Plus featured a picture of Scary Spice with the words “Stop right now. You get 10 per cent off two big shops a month for £7.99”, a play on the girl band’s hit single Stop.
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Mel B – also known as Melanie Brown – used social media to ask Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis to contact her over the use of the image.
She wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of the advert at a bus stop: “Can the CEO of Tesco Dave Lewis please contact me urgently. Thank you.”
Tesco bought the image through Getty and had signed a contract with Getty and Mel B’s agent, authorising the use of the photograph.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “Here at Tesco we are really big fans of Mel B and were excited to feature her photo in our campaign.
“We had authorisation to use this image, but we’re sorry Mel B is unhappy and so we’ve stopped using it where possible.”
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The photo, taken at the 1997 Brit Awards, was used as part of the advertising campaign for Tesco’s new subscription loyalty card Clubcard Plus, which it launched earlier this month.
The marketing campaign also features cultural references such as Morecombe and Wise, and scenes from Casablanca.
Main image credit: Getty