Irish Asked to Boycott Denny’s
File this Blog post in your, “What were they thinking” folder!
From very reliable and ticked off sources, I understand that Denny’s restaurants have been airing a disrespectful television commercial degrading the Irish by offering unlimited pancakes or fries in celebration of the ending of the Irish Famine.
Mama Mia!
If this is a joke, it’s not even close to being funny. The Irish Potato famine (An Gorta Mor) which caused the suffering and death of 1.5 million Irish due to forced starvation and related diseases is nothing to celebrate.
It’s a blatant insult to the Irish and they’re mobilizing.
For you Brands involved in Social Media Marketing watch how this unfolds.
I’m sure Denny’s will pull the Ad, and some talking head (whose head and whose mini-me heads should roll) will say, “I take full responsibility…yadda…yadda.”
But, is a simple apology enough? I don’t think so.
Watch the Irish mobilize and give Denny’s their own version of a Grand Slam – the marketing bozos at Denny’s deserve it!
Here’s a protest letter (AOH Denny’s Letter) from the president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
First, they offend African Americans (who knows how many other people since) and are made to pay $54 million in Race Bias Suits, and now this asinine insulting ad?
As a marketer (and a restaurant and hospitaly marketer too), I’ve been amazed by the amount of positive coverage (Super Bowl Ad) in the mainstream marketing media about Denny’s Free One Day Breakfast campaigns.
As for me, I prefer a Denny’s tagline in Time Magazine, “Denny’s: Where the Food Is Free and Drunks Can Pee!” because I believe in truth in advertising!
Full disclosure – I’m 50% Irish and a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. And, I haven’t been a big fan of Denny’s since the African American incident. I go out of my way to get my eggs over medium at a local independent Mom and Pop joints and will continue to do so. I suggest you join me.
FYI – I called the following Denny’s Customer Service number (1.800.733.6697) to demand that they pull this ad off the air, and they said, “I apologize and we’re aware of people’s concerns and we’re working to pull the ad.”
Some answer.
Note: The old days of a customer telling 9-12 people of her negative experience is way over. With Social Media, it could be thousands. Brands need to raise their game, because if/when you pull a stupid act like Denny’s, you’re going to get blasted!
Superb letter, Seamus.
I called the customer service number expressed by concern to a nice young woman. She said the same thing about removing the ad and providing an apology. But, of course, none of this is the employees fault.
Here’s the direct number for Nelson Marchioli, President of Denny’s.
1-864-597-7781 Ext.8122
Let”s fill up his answering machine!
Pat Kempton
New number for Marchioli 1-864-597-8000 Ext 8122
The other number was for Dory Djerf, corporate spokesperson.
Wouldn’t hurt to call both numbers.
This article will be linked to The O’Sullivan World Herald online clan newspaper. Thank you.
I am, unfortunately, not surprised by this. I didn’t see the Denny’s ad and I’m glad.
I remember some years back when Ben & Jerry’s named a new ice cream flavor the “Black & Tans.” I emailed them explaining that was offensive to me and many other Irish-Americans. They had the nerve to email me back that they marketed that flavor under a different name in Ireland. I did not email back to find out what they called it in the UK. (Joe Joyce’s mother was 12 and sitting on their front stoop in a poor neighborhood of Dublin when a Black & Tan took a shot at her. Fortunately for those of us who knew and loved Joe, he was a very bad shot. Her family moved to the Bronx as soon as they could after that.)
Obviously, they knew the name was offensive enough that they used a different name in Ireland; did they think we 1) have lost our Irish blood and/or 2) have no idea what happens in Ireland? It appears they’ve changed the name of the flavor or dropped it altogether.
The Guinness people’s advertising department got pretty offensive, but it took a while to get them to drop either the advertising campaign or agency. I do not know if anyone else found the ads offensive, but they made me sick. For a couple of years, coming up on Christmas and St Patrick’s Day, they had a TV campaign that featured two non-animated cartoon Irishmen, dressed in late 19th-early 20th century clothes and acting like the British image of the drunken Irish. They finally changed to a more dignified campaign, but I expect their attitude was that the Irish would never stop drinking Guinness. They never responded to any of my emails, and I haven’t done business with them since I saw the first ad. I can live quite happily without their products.
I read this in the Irish Republican News and I could not believe it was true so I had to so some research on the internet,
I am stunned that it turned out to be true. We do not have any Denny’s braches here in Ireland but I have used them a lot when working in Jamaica. But I will now never set foot in a Denny’s restaurant again, so help me.
Either they know it was meant to cause offence but were hoping the happy-go-lucky Irish would just laugh along with them (and they get free advertising by being controversial), or the marketing people they had were just pure and natural fools of the highest order. Either way it is a crime.
Imagine a Jewish version of the holocaust “happy meal”. I do not think this would be accepted in the USA or anywhere else and by the same standards Denny’s should go take a long walk off a short plank. Or as my father used to say … they should go and play with the traffic.