Over the last few days Irish Americans and supporters of their heritage became angered by an advertisement from Denny’s that “made fun of the Irish famine” that killed 1 million+ people in the 19th century. The ad offered “free pancakes in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the end of the Irish Famine,” according to various reports.
We’ve not yet seen the ad, but enough Irish Americans did to build a few Facebook pages for fellow opponents to air their concerns. One has been a landing page for complaints and information and the other displays information about a now-canceled protest set for Clifton Heights, PA. The protest was canceled after Denny’s stated it was pulling the ads.
An apology was issued by the company, which is represented by WPP’s Hill & Knowlton: “Denny’s has a history of using humor in its television advertising. It is certainly not the intention of the company to offend anyone or any group and we apologize if this spot has in any way. As a result of the feedback we have received from our customers the spot will no longer be on the air after Tuesday. We thank those who took the time to contact us.”
The ad is set to run through today, though some have reported it is already pulled. If anyone has a copy please let us know how we can see it by emailing agencyspy(at)gmail(dot)com.