TORONTO – Taco Bell has pulled a short-lived commercial that poked fun at people who bring veggie trays to parties after the company faced backlash on social media.
“Veggies on game day is like punting at fourth and one,” the ad’s voiceover says.
“It’s a cop out and secretly people hate you for it.”
The 15-second ad suggested that instead of vegetables, football fans should bring a 12-pack of tacos to Super Bowl parties.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based health advocacy group sparked the backlash, asking its following to tweet their complaints about the commercial.
That forced Taco Bell to back down on the ad.
“It’s bad enough that there aren’t many ads on television for broccoli, kale or carrots. The last thing healthy fruits and vegetables needed was to be the subject of attack ads,” the center said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Taco Bell responded to the flood of complaints: “We didn’t want anyone to misinterpret the intent of the ad,” a spokesman said.
Analysts say the ad was a good move by Taco Bell, seeing as its gone viral even with its untimely removal from TV.
“That pulled advertisement is plastered all over the Internet,” Forbes notes.
“The impressions won’t be in the same universe as Super Bowl placement, but the resulting media coverage of the ‘pull’ is nothing to sneeze at.”
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