Krispy Kreme has been forced to apologize after their recent advertising campaign garnered public criticism for its offensive racial language. The doughnut chain, partnered with creative agency Abel and Limehouse Production, released a video ad campaign designed to promote their doughnuts for major celebrations like graduations and birthdays that contained a racial slur. Though the original video featuring the racial slur has been removed from YouTube, the remaining three spots remain available and the campaign is ongoing across many digital platforms.
The controversy arose when viewers spotted that one of the clips had replaced the “o” in “congrats” with a doughnut, resulting in the brief appearance of the word “coongrats” before spelling it “cooongrats.” which is derogatory and offensive slang to refer to a person of color.
Olivia Sutherland, Krispy Kreme’s chief marketing officer, said “It was never our intention to offend any person or group. We regret the oversight and have removed all congratulatory-related ads from the campaign.” Dr. Stephen Hagen, a Queensland-based author as well as anti-racism activist, called Krispy Kreme’s profanity “an absolute disgrace.” He continued to note that mishandling of this issue could have severe economic and social implications for the popular brand.
Australia’s advertising watchdog, Ad Standards, said it would initiate an investigation if any complaints were submitted, and the public response to the campaign will be closely watched by companies who are increasingly mindful of the sensitivity of conversations around race. Krispy Kreme’s apology has been met with mixed reactions, but the story has sparked important conversations about the use of language in advertising.
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