Cadbury's supermodel strife

Cadbury is facing the prospect of a black boycott after it compared Naomi Campbell to a chocolate bar in a new advertising campaign.

The British supermodel - hardly known for taking things in her stride - is incensed that Cadbury used her name in the strap line to promote its new chocolate bar called Bliss, accusing the company of racism.

The advert says: "Move over Naomi - there is a new diva in town."

Yesterday, Campbell revealed she is considering "every option available" after Cadbury, owned by the United States giant Kraft, refused to pull the advertising campaign, which ran in newspapers last week.

"It's upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but for all black women and black people as a race. I do not find any humour in this. It is insulting and hurtful."

The model's mother, Valerie Morris, backed her daughter, saying: "I'm deeply upset by this racist advert.

"Do these people think they can insult black people and we just take it? This is the 21st century, not the 1950s. Shame on Cadbury."

Disgust at the advert prompted members of the public to complain to the campaign group Operation Black Vote, which has called for Cadbury to apologise. Spokesman Simon Woolley said that without an apology, the "only recourse black people have is not to buy its chocolate".

He has written to US civil rights activists Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to ask them to mobilise the country's African-American population. "I want them to know what their parent company is doing in Europe."

Mr Woolley said that, for black people, being likened to chocolate was as bad as being called a golliwog.

"Racism in the playground starts with black children being called 'chocolate bar'. At best, this is insensitive, and at worst it demonstrates Cadbury's utter disregard for causing offence."

A spokesman from Cadbury said the company "takes its responsibility very seriously and we would never produce any marketing we felt might cause offence to any section of society".

- INDEPENDENT