Firefighters scrambled to tackle a blaze near Grenfell Tower – only to discover it was an ‘insensitive’ marketing stunt by Sainsbury’s, who used a smoke machine next to their BBQ ribs billboard.
Footage of the blunder, uploaded to TikTok by London-based plumber Chloe Troncone, shows three firefighters standing next to a billboard reading ‘say yes to the sweet smoky sizzle’ with smoke billowing from behind it.
The 22-year-old spoke to Sainsbury’s staff at Shepherd’s Bush near South East London, who had finished taking photos of what was a ‘marketing stunt’ to advertise the supermarket’s BBQ ribs.
Chloe has since slammed Sainsbury’s as ‘insensitive’ for using smoke to catch the public’s attention while the billboard is a short drive from Grenfell Tower – where a terrifying fire killed at least 72 people in 2017.
The plumber says she understood why someone called 999 given the advert was next to a main road where they may only have caught a quick glimpse of the smoke.
London Fire Service confirmed they were called at 3.59pm and a fire engine from Hammersmith Fire Station went to the scene and realised it was a PR stunt just nine minutes later.
Sainsbury’s apologised for ‘any upset and confusion caused’ by the stunt and said they would use the ‘feedback’ to review future campaigns.
Chloe says she realised the smoke was part of a promotion because she walked past it 15 minutes earlier and saw people believed to be Sainsbury’s staff chatting to passersby.
She said: ‘They were trying to promote these smokey ribs and it was a good idea on paper but in reality it was an awful idea.
‘It’s quite a busy road so if you’re passing by, or are in, one of the many tower blocks and all you can see is smoke then your initial thought is to call the fire brigade.
‘It’s so close to Grenfell so I would say it’s a little bit insensitive to the people of the area.
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‘It wastes the firefighters time because if they hear about smoke near a tower block they’re going to panic.’
She added: ‘We were on the way to unblock a sink when we walked through this alleyway and came across the billboard.
‘We could see the smoke and two people were taking pictures and being all happy about it.
‘When we came back 15 minutes later we heard a siren so we walked up to look and saw the firefighters there while they were talking to the Sainsbury’s team.
‘They were saying they’d have to tell the call centre it’s an advertisement so they don’t keep getting called out.
‘I thought it was all just stupid and that it was too far. Just leave it as a billboard or at least write on it that it’s not real smoke.
Her TikTok said: ‘Lol they’re using a smoke machine to advertise their new smokey ribs and someone called it in for a fire in the first five minutes in Hammersmith.’
Grenfell Tower is a 24-storey residential tower block that caught fire leading to the deaths of at least 72 people on July 14, 2017.
A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said: ‘Crews were called to reports of smoke issuing from a sign on Holland Park Roundabout in Shepherd’s Bush (10/07).
‘After a thorough investigation, crews concluded the smoke was part of an advert on the sign.
‘The Brigade was called at 3.59pm and the incident was over for firefighters at 4.08pm. One fire engine from Hammersmith fire station attended the scene.’
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: ‘We are sorry for any upset and confusion this billboard design caused, while it was on display earlier this month.
‘Feedback is important to us and we’re reviewing any future campaigns in light of this.’
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