'What's funny to one person may not be to another person'
EUGENE, Ore. - The ad only aired half a continent away on radio in Kansas City, but the message resonated in Eugene with pit bull owners who say the breed gets a bad name.
"Trying a brand new menu item at McDonalds isn't risky?," goes the ad, since pulled from the air. "You know what's risky? Petting a stray pit bull."
Nevermind citing a breed is redundant: Petting any dog you don't know is risky. Period.
But responsible pit bull owners bristle when the breed - often smart and loving dogs, especially when raised by the right hands - gets held up as dangerous, as a rule.
"I was just flabbergasted that they would even compare chicken nuggets to petting a pit bull," said Robert Cramer of Eugene.
"Some of the main reasons we would go to Mcdonalds was for the dogs," Joshua O'Day said. "They would get their little snacks. They liked them.
"Now we're not going there any more."
The ad came back to bite the fast food giant. >>> Read a transcription of the radio ad
The McDonald's corporate offices already had a pre-recorded apology on demand.
"In our effort to spread the word about our new Chicken McBites, a local radio ad has inadvertently offended some of our customers," the recording says. "The ad was insensitive in it's mention of pit bulls."
KVAL News took the radio spot to Lynn Kahle, who teaches marketing at the University of Oregon. Kahle studies commercials.
Did the golden arches intend to anger pit bull owners and their supporters? "I doubt if there stragedy was to stir up anger," Kahle said.
"I think the attempt at the commercial was to be humorous, and humor is always risky because what's funny to one person may not be to another person."
"Trying a brand new menu item at McDonalds isn't risky. You know what's risky? Petting a stray pit bull,or shaving your head just to see how it would look thats risky. Naming your son 'Sue', super risky. Giving your friends your Facebook password, ultra risky. So trying a new menu item at McDonalds is about a zero on the old risker scale. Try a snack size of our new chicken McBites for free with purchase of any extra value meal from January 30th through February 5th. New at McDonald's means no risk, just reward. Participation may vary."
