Humor, of course, is relative…
But when you have an actor paint his face brown and put on a stereotypical ‘Indian’ accent to promote a product, it’s no surprise some may get offended.
In Popchips‘ lastest online marketing campaign, Ashton Kutcher plays the roles of five different ‘bachelors’ looking for love through the World Wide Lovers dating service.
One such character is Raj, a ‘bollywood producer’ dressed in traditional indian garb who talks about giving the Kardashians his ‘bone’ and randomly mentions he was once in a milking contest…
Popchips CEO Keith Belling released this official statement:
“We received a lot feedback about the dating campaign parody we launched today and appreciate everyone who took the time to share their point of view. Our team worked hard to create a light-hearted parody featuring a variety of characters that was meant to provide a few laughs. We did not intend to offend anyone. I take full responsibility and apologize to anyone we offended.”
The ad featuring Raj has since been removed… but if you think about it, the controversy is a great marketing scheme. It sure gets people talking about the product!
[Image via Popchips Inc. ]