Lidl rolled out the advert in Finland, Norway’s bitter rival in cross country skiing as world ski champion Therese Johaug received a two-month ban after testing positive to the steroid clostebol, a result she blames on cream she was given for a sore on her lip. 

 

Lidl's marketing manager, Seppo Niemelä, told Norway’s Dagbladet newspaper that the advert was intended to be “playful”. 

 

“We wanted to create a campaign that was relevant and responded  to our Finnish customers in a playful manner,” he said. “This promotion is only valid for today (Thursday). A customer who buys Norwegian smoked salmon gets a lip balm free. We have received lots of positive feedback from our customers.”