Burger King has pulled an ad in New Zealand after being condemned as offensive by not only Kiwis, but also many in the United States, reports Stuff.
The advertisement meant to promote the chain’s Vietnamese Sweet Chili Burger shows White people struggling to eat the sandwich with a chopstick.
A tweet by Korean New Zealander Maria Mo protesting the ad went viral and attracted attention as far as the United States.
“We have removed and it certainly does not reflect our brand values around diversity and inclusion,” James Woodbridge of Burger King said to Stuff.
Mo is not impressed.
“Unless there is an official announcement from BK to acknowledge their racism and apologize for the offense it caused, as well as promise to undergo more rigorous diversity training to make sure nothing like this happens again, their pulling the ad is just a measure to cover their tracks and absolutely nothing has changed.”
This is the latest controversy to hit the ad.
New Zealand’s Advertising Standards Authority had pulled the ad from television last month on grounds it encouraged people to overeat because the last line proclaimed “just need another three.”
However the chain continued to run the promotion on social media including Facebook and Instagram.
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RE: Burger King chopstick Ad Pulled from Backlash: What century is this that you think mocking Vietnamese for eating with chopsticks is funny? Oh wait let me guess the ethnic background of the person who thought up this campaign. Not Asian I’m guessing.