Cuddly fuhrer Cuddly fuhrer

Norway bans anti-asthma Hitler teddy bear ads

Campaign was designed to highlight health danger of dusty toys, but opponents feared it could make Nazi leader endearing

A Norwegian advert featuring teddy bears resembling Muammar Gaddafi and Adolf Hitler that was banned in January 2016.
A Norwegian advert featuring teddy bears resembling Muammar Gaddafi and Adolf Hitler that was banned in January 2016.

Norway has banned an advertising campaign that highlights the danger of dust gathering on toys because it features teddy bears resembling Adolf Hitler, the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and former North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Il.

The bears are displayed under the heading “Teddy bears can be dangerous.” But a Jewish organization reportedly feared the Hitler bear made the Nazi dictator potentially endearing.

The ad, produced by Norway’s Heart and Lung Association, was created as a response to a rise in asthma and allergy cases across the country, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday. The problem has increased fourfold since the 1970s, the association said.

The Norwegian Jewish community objected to the ad, the report said. Members of Det Mosaiske Trossamfund, Norway’s Jewish society, were reportedly concerned that the teddy of Hitler could diminish his crimes in the eyes of young people. One member said, “Hitler was a mass murderer and he doesn’t deserve this kind of attention,” according to the Mail.

Norway's anti-asthma Hitler bear
Norway’s anti-asthma Hitler bear
Bear Kim Jong II
Bear Kim Jong II

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