Shutterstock/Roman Tiraspolsky
Party City ran a commercial that inferred that people
who eat gluten free are "gross."
The commercial was advertising pre-Super Bowl deals at
the discount party store, and people were offended.
In a statement, Party City apologized for the
commercial and promised to make a donation to the Celiac
Foundation.
Party City is in a tight spot after it ran a pre-Super Bowl
advertisement that critics say is offensive to people who don't
eat gluten.
In the commercial, a host of a Super Bowl party is chatting with
a guest. "What is that?" the guest asks, motioning to a
sad-looking plate of gluten-free snacks. "Those are some
gluten-free options," the host says.
"Do we even know people that are like that?" the guest inquires.
"Tina," comes the response from the host.
"Oh, gross, yeah" the guest replies.
Take a look at the commercial below.
It's unclear if, in the world of the commercial, the "gross" is
referring to gluten-free people in general or just this unseen
Tina.
Whatever the case, people who suffer from a gluten-free allergy
and those with celiac disease took umbrage with the commercial on
social media. Critics say it downplays the severity of the
disease and difficulty of living with the allergy.
"Your new ad mocking people who eat gluten free is
inconsiderate and wrong at best," one Twitter user wrote
to Party City. "My celiac disease is not your
punchline."
"Your commercial is disgusting. Do you have any idea how
hard it is to live with a life threatening food allergy?" another
one reads. "I will not be shopping at your store anymore."
Party City has since pulled the commercial from all spots, and
issued an apology statement
on Instagram:
Party City values its customers above all else, and we take your
feedback extremely seriously. We recognize that we made an error
in judgment by running the recent Big Game commercial, which was
insensitive to people with food allergies. We have removed the
commercial from our website and all other channels, and sincerely
apologize for any offense this may have caused. We’d also like to
clarify that Sunny Anderson was not involved in the creation of
this commercial in any way, and we apologize for any offense it
has caused with her audience and fans. We will also be reviewing
our internal vetting process on all advertising content to avoid
any future issues. In addition, Party City will be making a
donation in support of Celiac Disease research.
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