Taco Bell Pulls Ad Making Fun of Veggie Eaters After Veggie Eaters Complain
[There was a video here]
A Taco Bell ad chastising party-poopers who bring veggie platters to Game Day has been pulled following a Twitter campaign launched by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
"Veggies on game day is like punting on fourth and one — it's a cop out," the ad's narrator sneers, before touting Taco Bell's Taco 12 Pack as a "Game Day tradition" (despite having just "introduced" it seconds earlier).
Concerned that the commercial might "discourage people from eating vegetables," CSPI asked veggie lovers to tweet their complaints at Taco Bell, and the company eventually decided to pull the ad off the air.
"We didn't want anyone to misinterpret the intent of the ad," Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch said in a statement.
CSPI released a statement of their own, thanking Taco Bell "for responding with record speed to address nutritionists' and consumers' concern."
Close call. For a minute there, Taco Bell nearly lost a bunch of vegetarian customers and the business of a health food advocacy group.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Taco Bell's commercial as a "Super Bowl ad." It was originally tied to the Bowl Championship Series, and put into general rotation after that. A new Game Day commercial was released this week to coincide with the Super Bowl.
