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Cadbury says sorry to Naomi Campbell

British model Naomi Campbell attends the "Alexander McQueen Memorial Service" at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on September 20, 2010. UPI/Rune Hellestad
British model Naomi Campbell attends the "Alexander McQueen Memorial Service" at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on September 20, 2010. UPI/Rune Hellestad | License Photo

LONDON, June 4 (UPI) -- Cadbury has apologized to Naomi Campbell for a controversial ad for its Dairy Milk Bliss chocolate in which the British supermodel is mentioned.

The slogan for the ad includes the line, "Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town."

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"It's upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me but for all black women and black people," Campbell told the British newspaper The Guardian. "I do not find any humor in this. It is insulting and hurtful."

Cadbury said in a statement issued to The Telegraph newspaper in England Friday it "understands that our latest advertising campaign for Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss caused upset to Naomi Campbell and her family."

"Cadbury takes its responsibility to consumers very seriously indeed and we would never deliberately produce any marketing material we felt might cause offense to any section of society. It was not our intention that this campaign should offend Naomi, her family or anybody else and we are sincerely sorry that it has done so," the company said.

The Telegraph said the ads have since been pulled and Campbell has accepted the company's mea culpa.

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"The advertisement was in poor taste on a number of levels, not least in the way they likened me to their chocolate bar. It is also a shame that it took so long for Cadbury to offer this apology," Campbell said in a statement.

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