Tunnock's boycott called for by Scottish nationalists after teacakes get British branding

Tunnock said that it was the first time the teacake had appeared in advertising on the underground

(PA)

Scottish nationalists are calling for a boycott of Tunnock's after the brand abandoned its Scottish lion south of the border in a effort to seem more British.

The Scottish lion, known as the lion rampart, has disappeared from the Tunnock billboards in the London underground, replaced with a sign billing the snack as "Tunnock's Great British teacake".

The Great British reference was a deliberate shift in the brand's marketing, according to Boyd Tunnock, managing director of the legacy Scottish brand.

“You’ve got the Great British Bake Off and things like that these days. We could have said Scottish but you’re then promoting Scotland. We’re British," he told Scotland's Daily Record.

Tunnock said that it was the first time the teacake had appeared in advertising in the underground.

"Down south, people wouldn’t know it as Scottish. We’ve had caramel wafers advertised on the London Underground but I think that was the first time for teacakes," he said.

However the teacake will not be branded British north of the border, he said.

A campaign calling for people to boycott Tunnock has started on Twitter. On Facebook, Tunnocks has been added to a group called "Boycott the companies that scared Scotland".

But not everyone agreed. Blair McDougall, who campaigned for Scots to say no to Independence as head of the Better Together campaign, said that a Scottish business doing well overseas should be celebrated.

Tunnock's teacakes were a talking point during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, when dancing teacakes in the opening ceremony helped to drive profits up 17 per cent in the year to February 2015.