A family bereaved by the Grenfell Tower fire has strongly criticised a Voltarol ad that appears to edit out the building, calling the decision “really upsetting”.
Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman died alongside 72 others in the June 2017 blaze noticed the removal of Grenfell Tower when an ad for pain relief brand Voltarol showed people playing football at Westway Sports Centre – normally in the tower’s shadow.
Whilst two other similar council-run tower blocks were left in-situ, the famously covered-up Grenfell was mysteriously removed from the spot post-filming.
Commissioned by British multinational health firm Haleon, the spot aired via Channel 4’s on-demand streaming service and was due to run across multiple markets.
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Responding to The Guardian, the company said that it was “deeply sorry for any distress” that the latest ad for its Voltarol brand may have caused, and confirmed that it would be taking it off the air “with immediate effect”.
The mis-step comes at sensitive time for the extended victims of the fire, with the inquiry still yet to hold any individuals or businesses to account for the disaster, despite its rapidly approaching seventh anniversary.
Mussilhy, a native of North Kensington called the campaign “insulting”, adding: “It seems nobody wants to see it any more, that it’s an eyesore. The vibe I feel is that [people] want it gone.”
