Tio Pepe, sponsor of Gordon Ramsay series The F-Word, has been slammed by animal rights campaigners for a "cruel" ad tie-in.
Animal Defenders International (ADI) attacked the creative at the start of Ramsay's new series, in which the Spanish wine brand is promoted by the tagline "Foie gras without Tio Pepe?"
ADI said the spot implied that people could not consume one without the other and denounced the force-feeding of ducks and geese which results in the production of foie gras.
The sale of foie gras, which is the fattened liver of a duck or goose that has been overfed, is legal in the UK, although force-feeding is not permitted, in common with much of Europe.
This latest controversy is not the first time that chef Ramsay has angered animal rights groups.
Earlier this year he slaughtered his two pigs, Trinny and Suzanna, on TV and made them into sausages in his restaurant.
The abrasive chef was also injured taking part in the heavily-criticised sport of bull fighting for television in October.
Alongside his Channel 4 show The F-Word, in which food is judged by celebrity diners in his restaurant, Ramsay has starred in troubleshooting show Kitchen Nightmares.
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By Oliver Milman
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