Earlier this year, Coca-Cola began running TV ads here and in the UK showing you all the fun activities you could do to burn off the extra calories you consumed while chugging down a Coke. But regulators overseas have since banned one version of the ad saying it misled viewers into thinking they could work off a can of soda with a lot less exertion than is actually required. [More]
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English Grocery Store Offers Venison Special: Severed Deer Head At Checkout
By 6.12.13
You can encounter the weirdest stuff at the grocery store in the wee hours of the morning, but you probably haven’t seen anything weirder than what turned up in the self-checkout aisle of one of UK grocer Tesco’s stores at 1:30 in the morning: the severed head of a deer. [More]
Coffee Shop Owner: Quit Asking Me To Offer Suspended Coffees Already
By 4.2.13
Last week, we explained why we think that the “suspended coffee” movement that allegedly began in Naples, spread all over Bulgaria, and exploded on Facebook isn’t such a hot idea. But don’t just take it from us: the owner of an independent London coffee shop weighed in on the movement. Her take: it’s insulting that people think independent coffee shops don’t already help people who look like they could use a warm cup of coffee, and you should support your local indie shop. Well, that second part was predictable. [More]
U.K. Health Officials Find “Beef” Lasagna Meals Containing 60%-100% Horse Meat
By 2.8.13
Our neighbors across the pond are caught in an equine-lover’s nightmare: First, beef hamburgers on shelves were found to contain horse DNA and recalled, after authorities traced the contamination back to a couple processing plants. Burger King got caught up in it as well, although no burgers with horse in them made it to stores. And now the scandal has spread to frozen “beef” lasagna meals. [More]
Scourge Of Drunken Toddlers In Chain Restaurants Spreads To The UK
By 10.12.12
Here at the Consumerist, we’ve been at the forefront of reporting on incidents where chain restaurant personnel accidentally servem alcoholic beverages to very small children. We’re sad to note that the phenomenon has crossed the Atlantic. A mother in Wales was out for lunch to celebrate her son’s second birthday when she noticed that her toddler was making faces while drinking his juice. She took a sip herself, and found that the child had been drinking whiskey instead of his usual lime juice and water. A double, it seemed. They took him to the hospital for observation. [More]
Sprint Isn’t Sure Whether They Can Unlock My iPhone Or Not
By 7.16.12
In a few months, Jessica and her fiancé will move to his native London. This wasn’t in her long-term plans when she bought an iPhone 4S and signed a contract with Sprint. Life happens. At least she will be able to keep her newish iPhone after unlocking it and swapping in a UK SIM card…right? Well, no. Maybe. No. Yes, but for $300. Nobody, including Sprint employees, seems to know what Sprint’s actual policy is. [More]
Department Store Ad Goes After Coveted Incontinent-But-Stylish Demographic
By 6.11.12
The British are known for their dry humor. And apparently for the folks at upscale UK department store Harvey Nichols, that dry sensibility has left its models all wet in the trousers. [More]
Ad Authority Takes 9 Years To Get The Old "Sofa King" Joke
By 3.1.12
It may be a stereotype that it takes bureaucrats a long time to catch on to an obvious joke, but every once in a while that stereotype is reinforced. [More]
UK City Forcing Taxi Drivers To Record All Passengers
By 11.15.11
You’re probably familiar with the long-running HBO special “Taxicab Confessions,” in which cab passengers –often under the influence of some sort of intoxicant — open their hearts, minds, and sometimes their blouses to drivers of taxis rigged with multiple hidden cameras. Now the UK city of Oxford is turning its entire fleet of cabs into rolling recording devices. [More]
Driving Your Car Through The Door Is A Good Way To Get Banned From Every McDonald's In The UK
By 9.7.11
If you’re not happy with the service at your McDonald’s drive-thru, there are many, many ways to express your frustration. One that we most definitely do not recommend is repeatedly ramming your car into the building. [More]
This McDonald's Video Takes Recruitment Propaganda To Hollywood Heights
By 6.16.11
This recruitment video for McDonald’s is simply amazing. It is a full-on miniature drama tracing the arc of a young woman who starts at the bottom at McDonald’s, overcoming the snark and condescension of her friends and her mother, and rises to become a floor manager who trains other new employees, joining part of a community of other happy workers. All who doubted her are forced to eat their words. The production is slick, with emotive cinematography and lots of rising crane shots. It should get the Oscar for best internal corporate propaganda. [More]
Block Cuts Electricity Use By 15% By Chalking Meter Readings On Street
By 4.15.11
Residents of one block in Brighton in the UK are tracking their electricity usage via a giant infographic graffitied onto the street. In the three weeks the project has been running, electricity use has dropped 15%. Amazing the great good a little bit of feedback can do! In America people would probably just compete to see how big they could make the electricity drain go. [More]
Breast Milk Ice Cream Confiscated From London Shop
By 2.28.11
When we wrote about the London ice cream shop that had made a frozen treat from human breast milk, some readers wondered about the legality and/or safety of such a product. Well, they weren’t alone, as local authorities decided to confiscate the ice cream until those questions were resolved. [More]
Bride Celebrates Wedding At KFC — 2 Decades After Mom & Dad Did The Same At McDonald's
By 2.14.11
After getting hitched at the register office in the English city of Bristol on Saturday, a pair of newlyweds and their party of 30 strolled on over to KFC to chow down on various forms of fried food. But for the new bride, having her wedding reception at a fast food joint wasn’t just an inexpensive way to celebrate, it’s also a family tradition. [More]
Airport Introduces Hologram "Staff" Members
By 1.28.11
Rather than just running a plain ol’ video or audio loop instructing travelers on liquid restrictions and other topics, Manchester Airport in the UK has unveiled a pair of holograms it hopes will speed up the lines at the security checkpoints. [More]
Apple Calls Woman To Tell Her She's Won $10,000; Woman Hangs Up On Apple
By 1.24.11
While it’s a good rule of thumb to hang up the phone on anyone who calls you to tell you that you won a contest, a woman in the UK almost found herself without a $10,000 prize when she didn’t believe it was Apple on the other end of the line. [More]
UK Asks McDonald's, Pepsi, KFC To Help Write Health Policy
By 11.16.10
In a move that seems as sensible as asking your creepy uncle who just got out of jail to babysit for the weekend, the UK is looking to such luminaries in the health food industry as McDonald’s, KFC and Pepsi for assistance in writing government policy on obesity and other health problems. [More]
Man Dies After Ingesting Enough Caffeine For 70 Energy Drinks
By 11.2.10
A 23-year-old man in the UK has passed away after he reportedly ingested “spoonfuls” of powdered caffeine at a party. [More]
