Public backlash to a Party City advertising campaign saw the party giant apologising following an ‘insensitive’ television commercial.
The televison advert, which aired on 22 January, saw the party and costume retailer’s social media channels being flooded with complaints from upset members of the public.
The commercial – which saw two party hosts describing offering gluten-free snack options as ‘gross’ – has since been taken off air, but the gluten-free blog Gluten Dude captured a recording of it and posted to its YouTube page.
Offended viewers felt the commercial is offensive because it pokes fun at people with Celiac disease.
In response to all of the backlash, Party City has issued a number of apologies and has pledged to make a contribution in support of Celiac disease research.
“Party City values its customers above all else, and we take your feedback extremely seriously,” said an official statement from the US-based retailer. “We recognise that we made an error in judgment by running the recent Big Game commercial, which was insensitive to people with food allergies.”
“We have removed the commercial from our website and all other channels, and sincerely apologise for any offense this may have caused.”
