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BOSTON (AP) -- Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an online advertisement featuring Rachael Ray after complaints that a fringed black-and-white scarf that the celebrity chef wore in the ad offers symbolic support for Muslim extremism and terrorism.
The coffee and baked goods chain said the ad that began appearing online May 7 was pulled over the past weekend because "the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee."
In the spot, Ray holds an iced coffee while standing in front of trees with pink blossoms.
Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin complained that the scarf wrapped around her looked like a kaffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress. ''The kaffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,'' Malkin wrote in her syndicated column.
"Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons," she said.
A statement issued Wednesday by Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Brands Inc., however, said the scarf had a paisley design, and was selected by a stylist for the advertising shoot.
"Absolutely no symbolism was intended," the company said.
Dunkin' spokeswoman Michelle King said the ad appeared on the chain's Web site, as well as other commercial sites.
Amahl Bishara, an anthropology lecturer at the University of Chicago who specializes in media matters relating to the Middle East, said complaints about the scarf's use in the ad demonstrate misunderstandings of Arab culture and the multiple meanings that symbols can take on depending on someone's perspective.
"I think that a right-wing blogger making an association between a kaffiyeh and terrorism is just an example of how so much of the complexity of Arab culture has been reduced to a very narrow vision of the Arab world on the part of some people in the U.S.," Bishara said in a phone interview. "Kaffiyehs are worn every day on the street by Palestinians and other people in the Middle East - by people going to work, going to school, taking care of their families, and just trying to keep warm."
While some extremists and terrorists may wear kaffiyehs, "To reduce their meaning to support for terrorism has a tacit racist tone to it," Bishara said.
Malkin, in a posting following up on last week's column, said of Dunkin's decision to pull the ad, "It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists."
Ray, host of the Food Network television program "30 Minute Meals" as well as a syndicated daytime talk show, began appearing in ads for Dunkin' Donuts in March 2007. When Dunkin' announced the partnership, it said Ray would be featured in TV, print, radio and online spots in a campaign running through 2010.
Are reporters and the media so attention starved that now someone is claiming Rachel and Dunkin Donuts are promoting terrorism?... give me a break! When I see the picture all I see is an ugly scarf. She makes meals in 30 minutes and DD sells fried dough...
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, she has her own blog and only does spot appearances for TV and newspapers but if she were employed and I was her boss I'd fire her for wasting time and making the company look stupid.
but this society has gotten so freakin' overly sensitive and overly politically correct and we have to always watch out for everyone else's feelings -it's like we're raising a generation of pansy asses...
Imagine if All In the Family were on network television now - oh sweet mother of all that is unholy - the outcry that would come out.. .
WHile I hate Howard Stern- when he started having run ins with the FCC and others years and years ago - his reponse was simple - don't like what i have to say - Change the station... People really need to get over themselves and just change the station or something
Secretly she's selling more than donuts... Post #4 (permalink)
"It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists."
Somehow I doubt that with a failing economy, an expensive war with no end in sight, falling and ill troops, and all of the other more important things to be worried about in this country AND world, I highly highly HIGHLY doubt there are even a dozen Americans concerned about that damn piece of cloth wrapped around her neck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maleficent
Here's a thought -why don't they get a job
Just another concept in life that some people cannot grasp! maybe I should start a "Dose of Reality" thread...
Secretly she's selling more than donuts... Post #5 (permalink)
Ugh, political correctness just goes far too far nowadays. This Malkin woman must have had absolutely nothing to write about and FAR too much time on her hands to even mention this...I doubt the thought would have crossed anyone else's mind, and I bet millions saw that advert.
Here in England there was a story in the news in 2006 about a nursery school in Oxford that changed the lyrics from "bah bah black sheep" to be "bah bah rainbow sheep" and other things such as omitting the "...and the seven dwarves" part of the Snow White title. Link to the story. There was also a story about how instead of brainstorming ideas we should now refer to this process as a "thought shower" as the word "brainstorm" is apparently offensive to people with epilepsy or similar conditions.
This is quite a good read, I don't know whether it's necessarily meant to be a joke or not but it's so ridiculous it makes me laugh anyway. My favourites being 'deferred success' as a euphemism for the word fail and flip chart - the term can be offensive to Filipinos, please use ‘writing block’.
Oh, also, the Christmas just gone a lot of places in England, such as workplaces and schools, have been worried about putting decorations in case of offending other religions! I mean, come on, I respect other faiths and all, I'm not strictly Christian myself but....we're a Christian country for crying out loud.
Secretly she's selling more than donuts... Post #6 (permalink)
this society has gotten so freakin' overly sensitive and overly politically correct and we have to always watch out for everyone else's feelings -it's like we're raising a generation of pansy asses...
thats because alot of people don't realize that Dunkin Donuts wouldn't give a rats ass about hurting people's feelings if they didn't think it would hinder their cash flow in any way.
Dunkin Donuts is just trying to save itself headaches and money. I don't balme them for pulling the picture. They are a big corporation and they can't afford not to be entirely PC. Granted, no one probably would have cared about this scraf if this Malkin lady hadn't pointed it out, but now that she did, DD must react this way. They're selling donuts; Stern entertains us by throwing bologne at a chick's ass covered in mayonnaise.
These corporations may look like pansies, but they have a big **** under that skirt ready to plow us all. They're after our money, not our applause for standing behind their ad campaign.
Us little people have the luxury of voicing our opinion with little or no monetary consequences.. so sue me, you can't get blood from a turnip
Secretly she's selling more than donuts... Post #7 (permalink)
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