Dunkin’ Dumbnuts. Not to be confused as related to Homer Simpson, but this item attracted our attention because it involves one of two of our favourite food groups – donuts! The other of course being beer. American junk food chain Dunkin’ Donuts recently caught flak for running an ad campaign in Thailand that US human rights group Human Rights Watch said was “bizarre and racist”.
The ad promotes Dunkin’ Donuts’ “Charcoal Donut,” featuring a smiling woman with black face makeup and bright pink lipstick. The copy in Thai reads: “Break every rule of deliciousness.”
But of course with controversy comes publicity and indeed a steady stream of global media reports, the likes of Associated Press, The Guardian and many others, all carried the charcoal news.
Unfortunately, for Dunkin’s marketing agency, not to mention the illustrious donut company itself, almost all of the articles took the high ground calling the ad a racist slur. Ouch.
And Dunkin’ Donuts’ US headquarters clearly saw no humour what-so-ever in all the bad press and yanked the campaign and issued an apology. “We are working with our Thailand franchisee to immediately pull the ad. DD recognises the insensitivity of this spot,” Dunkin’ Donuts said in a tweet posted on its official US website.
But it appears that the issue might just be one of cross cultural mis-communication. The company’s Thailand CEO Nadim Salhani claimed the ad was innocent, dismissing the criticism as “paranoid American thinking” and said it was absolutely ridiculous.
“I’m sorry, but this is a marketing campaign and it’s working very well for us,” he told The Guardian, adding that his daughter was the model used in the advert.
“We’re not allowed to use black to promote our doughnuts? I don’t get it. What’s the big fuss? What if the product was white and I painted someone white, would that be racist?”
Indeed, that we reckon is the million dollar question. Here at Belly Ache we refuse to be drawn on whether it was right or wrong, all we can say is…who would want to eat Dunkin’ Donuts anyway when you can have a Krispy Kreme!?! Sheesh.
No worries mate! You would think… if anybody had a sense of humour, it would be the Aussies right? I mean they’re a pretty happy-go-lucky bunch, eaten’ their pies, tossing shrimps on the barbie, a Fosters beer always in hand, wrestlin’ crocs…but it appears that some down under are severely lacking a sense of humour.
A clever Australian betting company commissioned a 170 metre by 90 metre piece of ‘artwork’ in a field on the approach path to Melbourne Airport back a few months ago. The field painting – which coincidently set a new Guinness world record – was aimed at fans of the British and Irish Lions who were coming to town for a rugby test match against the hometown Wallabies. Problem is, the massive painting featuring a winking wallaby wearing the green and gold of the country’s rugby team was portrayed in a rather compromising position, hugging from behind a bemused lion clutching a rugby ball, with the title, “Rooting for the Wallabies”. Described by the esteemed UK newspaper The Telegraph as, “typical Aussie base humour,” the image didn’t impress the state’s Environment Minister either and after declaring it offensive, called for its removal.
“It is totally inappropriate, we will be insisting that it is removed as a matter of priority,” he said. Oh dear, what is this world coming to? Next he’s going to be after Crocodile Dundee!
