Morrisons ad’s future is uncertain due to E.coli outbreak

Morrisons’ advertising campaign, extolling the freshness of its produce, has been left in doubt following an outbreak of E.coli alleged to have been caused by cold meat sold in two of its stores.

The outbreak has killed one woman and left seven people seriously ill.

A decision has yet to be made on whether the ads, featuring actress and television presenter Denise van Outen will run next week. A spokeswoman says the television advert did not run last week and had not been scheduled to run this week but was unable to confirm whether the ads are planned to run in the foreseeable future.

It is understood the supermarket group will review its advertising as more information on the source of the E.coli becomes available.

One retail analyst says that the supermarket should suspend its campaign until the results of an investigation by the Public Health Protection Unit has been concluded. The company has withdrawn sliced cold meats from two stores in Paisley, Scotland, as a precaution.

The supermarket giant launched the campaign,created by Delaney Lund Knox Warren, last month as part of its £450m investment in new stores programme and rebranding.