BOTH Swiss-based food manufacturer Nestle and ad agency J. Walter Thompson have apologised for the Kit Kat advert placed in the Hongkong press last week which played on the Prince and Princess of Wales' marital split. The ad - a picture of Charles and Diana ignoring each other and captioned with the slogan ''Have a break, have a Kit Kat'' - appeared in the territory on one day only, both in the South China Morning Post and a Chinese newspaper, but news of it quickly spread to England, where tabloids made great play of it. Nestle, the maker of Kit Kat (which happens to be the UK's favourite chocolate bar) was forced to admit yesterday that the advert was ''in bad taste'' and would be discontinued. However, Grace Atkinson, chairman of the agency in Hongkong and China, said the advert was only ever scheduled to be a ''one-off''. ''It was meant to be a totally innocent gesture of goodwill,'' she added. ''It is the Kit Kat line, and we certainly didn't make it up to be offensive.'' But Francois Perroud, spokesman for Nestle, said the advert was not in line with the group's policy. ''We have a family-orientated product which likes to be rather low-key in advertising,'' he said. ''It is quite clear that playing on the misfortunes of other people is not our style. This was a mistake.'' He added that the campaign was devised in Hongkong and had not been viewed or approved by executives at the Vevey headquarters. Meanwhile, Atkinson said: ''We were dismayed people took it the wrong way. And to those people who were offended we would like to say sorry. ''It was not meant to make any waves. We wanted to say, 'Whatever you're going through, sit back and have a break'. ''But I do think some people are taking it too literally.'' The company recently announced that Kit Kat, made in York, England, had become the first confectionery to break through the 200 million sales barrier, 40 million more than its closest rival, Mars. Picture of the past WE were surprised to see Music Motion presenter Gloria Wu plastered on an MTR wall, advertised as being for sale for $300! Well, not really. The Goodyear Perfume Company (location unknown) is offering a free calendar with every purchase worth $300, and Gloria, sitting with Chow Yun-fatt, is the picture for the month of January. We asked the Eye on Hongkong presenter how it all came about and she revealed that the picture was taken when she first came to Hongkong in pursuit of a modelling career. She was given a job and told to turn up at a Chinese-language magazine office for a cover photograph with a local star. But when Chow Yun-fatt walked into the room she mistook him for the janitor. ''I'd only been here for two weeks and I didn't know who anyone was, never mind Chow Yun-fatt, confessed Gloria (right). ''He was wearing a T-shirt and torn jeans and he looked as though he hadn't shaven.'' Now, years later, her past is returning to haunt her. The first she heard of the calendar company was when she saw the poster on the MTR. ''I'd like to know who they are,'' she said. ''Maybe they could give me some more money.'' Boys from the bush THEY'VE toured Hongkong's clubs extensively for the past four years and have developed fervent legions of fans from Down Under. So Australian bush-band The Sundowners are confident enough to start a semi-permanent gig at the Excelsior hotel that will continue until February 19. The five-member band led by Mick Slocum on accordion, concertina, harmonica and lagerphone, will be playing at the Dickens Bar every night except Sundays. Formed in 1977 from members of the Bushwackers Band and the All Australian Pub Show, The Sundowners aim to recapture the colonial and pioneering spirit of Australia. Last year they recorded Dancing Up a Storm (as well as conducting a successful Asian tour that included Hongkong), so this year Slocum, Damian Dickson on guitar and banko, Christophe Genoux on sax and didgeridoo, Billy Milroy on tea-chest bass and harmonica, and Andrew Smith on drums are more than happy to be back. They all sing, but they also demand audience participation - so be warned. This Australian bonanza coincides with the news that the first exhibition of Aboriginal art in Hongkong is to be held at the China Club between February 9 and 11. Presented by Corbally Stourton Contemporary Art, it will feature the most important Aboriginal artists of the moment as well as younger painters in a 30-work show. But Corbally Stourton is not an Australian enterprise - the London shop is the first gallery in Europe to specialise in Aboriginal art. Station's bare cheek THE Curse of Mr Bean ended up being cursed yet again when it was castrated by ATV World on Sunday night - and the cuts demonstrated how Hongkong is engaging in blatant buttock discrimination. The overzealous station decided to cut a scene from Mr Bean in which star Rowan Atkinson (right) briefly displays his bottom - even though the programme was aired after 9 pm. Yet in Bird on a Wire on TVB on Saturday night, viewers were treated to Mel Gibson's uncensored behind - even though it was a ''stunt bum'' and not the star's own. The first vignette in The Curse of Mr Bean featured Rowan Atkinson as the silent eponymous hero and was set in an inside public swimming pool. Mr Bean hangs off the diving board, falls into the pool, and loses his trunks. He has to wait until the pool closes before he can leave en deshabille - but then has the bad fortune to run into a gang of schoolgirls. Only he didn't on Sunday night. ATV decided to spare viewers the pain of seeing Mr Atkinson's buttocks and snipped off the end of the piece - as they did the first time the programme was shown in Hongkong. Meanwhile, Gibson's vital parts brazenly remained on the other channel. We think Mr Atkinson deserves an explanation. Moderation message THE split is finally public - after 20 years with the company, award-winning executive creative director Hans Ebert has divorced ad agency DDB Needham (or should that be the other way around?) Whatever the final deal, both sides are currently keeping mum, and after two months on holiday using up his accumulated leave, Hans officially quit the company on January 1. ''I'm chuffed about having left,'' said Ebert yesterday. He has set up his own company called Beyond-the-Line, and was even more pleased to announce that he had just landed the $10 million PolyGram account. ''It's a nice New Year's present,'' said Hans, modestly. But there's another matter keeping Hans awake at the moment - like everyone else he was shocked to see the tragic New Year's Eve pictures being relayed worldwide from Lan Kwai Fong. ''I saw the guys guzzling cans of beer in the street and thought there has to be a way to help,'' he said. ''Someone has to try to deliver a message that tells people about drinking in moderation in a way they can understand. ''All the adverts on television at New Year were the same as ever - but private companies can create a socially-relevant piece of work to be delivered at New Year or Lunar New Year that can still reflect the advertiser.'' He gave an example of a cognac advert urging viewers to ''Enjoy our drink - but in moderation''. ''I want to challenge the major advertisers - like the cognac companies - to keep aside a small part of their annual budget and do something,'' said Ebert. ''Let's face it, there's not much hope when government announcements are telling people to take the paper off the bottom of their dumplings.'' TELEPHONE: 5652216 - FAX: 8111048 or 8111278
