Conservatives delete 'Willy Wonka' ad from Twitter after copyright complaint

The Conservative party has deleted an ad mocking Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau from Twitter after a copyright infringement claim was made against it.

The ad, which was released on Friday, depicted Trudeau’s face pasted on top of an image of a bratty character from classic children’s film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

A Twitter Canada spokesperson says the social media company responds to “valid copyright complaints” sent on behalf of the copyright owner.

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A database of Digital Millennium Copyright Act notices shows that a claim was made against the Conservative party tweet on Saturday.

The Lumen Database is a transparency initiative founded in partnership with the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University.

A screenshot of the video before it was taken down. (CPC/Twitter)

Twitter removed the video on Monday and the Conservatives subsequently deleted the tweet.

The 37-second video was roundly condemned by sitting Conservative MPs and others as juvenile and ill-suited to a high-stakes event such as a federal election.

“Asking to be the Governing Party of Canada is serious business, requiring serious people making good, reasonable and mature decisions,” Alberta Tory MP Blaine Calkins wrote in a tweet.

“I trust the decision maker who decided to post this tasteless and appalling video will be brought up to speed.”

BC MP Todd Doherty said in a tweet the ad was “embarrassing,” while Ontario MP Scott Aitchison responded to a constituent’s question about the ad by saying he agrees “that video is dumb.”

“Sadly they don’t ask me my opinion on these things,” he wrote on Twitter.