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TV watchdogs have ruled that a commercial relaunching the Harvester

chain of family restaurants and featuring copulating monkeys should be

confined to a late-evening slot.

In the ad, a small girl visiting a zoo watches one monkey mount another

and asks her mother what they are doing.

Later, over a meal at a Harvester, her mother explains that the animals

were "cuddling". "What? From behind?" her daughter asks.

Publicis, which produced the £2.5 million campaign, has agreed to

re-edit the film to change the girl's response and allow the ad to be

screened earlier.

But shots of the monkeys will remain.

Grant Duncan, the Publicis managing director, said: "We have produced an

amended version of the ad because there's a lot of airtime we want to

fill."

The film is one of three marking the debut work by Publicis since it

took over the account when its FCA! "sister" agency merged with it last

year. It aims to extend the appeal of the 150-strong chain, which has

traditionally targeted families.

The drive follows heavy investment in the restaurants by their owner,

Six Continents Retail, formerly the Bass Group, with an extensive

refurbishment programme and a more contemporary menu.

Duncan claimed the commercial would be useful in persuading people who

had never visited to a Harvester to try it.

The commercials were written and art directed by Jackie Steers and Ira

Joseph, and directed by Paul Weiland of The Paul Weiland Film

Company.

Media planning and buying is through MindShare.