An advertising stunt from budget supermarket chain Aldi has sparked strong reaction among the gaming and esports communities - most of it negative.

The Teatime Takedown campaign invites parents to call upon a squad of professional gamers to “take down” their kids in online games - with the aim of getting youngster at the table in time for dinner.

Parents are invited to input their kids’ gamer tags so an “elite squad of professional gamers can take them down in time for tea”.

Aldi said: “Parents! Tired of your kids missing dinnertime because of computer games? Then call upon the services of an elite squad of professional gamers who will join their game online and take them down. Now they’ll have no excuse not to be at the table when dinner’s ready.”

But the Teatime Takedown campaign has not done down well with gamers.

Aldi 'out of touch'

Sujoy Roy, who was the UK’s first professional gamer and is now Director of Esports at Luckbox, said: “It’s a clever idea but a little misguided and shows Aldi as being a bit out of touch.

“Parents should be encouraged to take an active interest in their kids’ online activity, not force them to quit gaming in a rage because they are losing. Mums and dads should be the ones playing with and against their kids, not a some unknown ‘elite gamers’.

“There’s a lot of concern about gaming online, some of it justified, but most of it is scaremongering. Gaming online can be a highly social and help develop real-life skills and this is the kind of thing parents should be encouraging and celebrating.”