After facing a wave of criticism online and on the street over an ill-advised and dangerous ad campaign, Pretzel Crisps emailed NYC The Blog to explain they would be taking the offending ads down. They even apologized. It's hard to tell how sincere the company was. For example, Drew Grant, editor of Crushable, sent the photo at left, showing Pretzel Crisps ads displaying another version of the offending language.
In effect, Pretzel Crisps has replaced one pro-anorexia ad, a disease which kills almost 20% of it's long term victims, with another widely recognized pro-anorexia slogan.
Responding to criticism the company initially received over the previous ads and replacements, Pretzel Crisps told Jezebel the advertisements "...people commented on was the ‘too thin' ad. So we removed them and replaced them with one of the other three." The other ads still up, "were never part of the debate."
Grant explained via email: "What's both offensive and evenly mildly subversive about these pretzel campaigns is that they are removing that layer of filtering and saying straight up: You need to be thinner."
Unfortunately, this advertising can have deadly consequence. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
Previously:
UPDATED: Pretzel Crisps Offer An Apology
Pretzel Crisps: "We Will Be Taking The ‘You Can Never Be Too Thin’ Ads Down"
UPDATED: Pretzel Crisps Responds: Pretzel Crisps Pretzel Ads Encourage Anxiety About Body Weight And Image; One Resident Fights Back
» Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Drew Grant/Twitpic
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