UK Burger Chain In Strife For ‘Mocking’ Vegetarians In New Campaign
What a time to be a vegan, what with all the MLA Australia Day debacles, and now this new ad from UK burger chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK).
The chain has come under attack for a series of advertisements that aren’t exactly sympathetic to the plight of the vegetarian.
The adverts have popped up mostly in London Underground stations and trains, featuring taglines such as “Vegetarians, resistance is futile”, and “You’ll always remember when you gave up being a vegetarian”.
GBK has since said it will remove some adverts after it was called out for “mocking” vegetarians.
People have also taken to social media to condemn GBK’s ads, using the hashtag #gourmetmurderkitchen to highlight what has been perceived to be a flippant attitude towards a vego’s choice.
@gbkburgers Loved GBK but apparently we’re not welcome #vegetarian #vegan #resistanceisfutile #ieatgrasswiththem pic.twitter.com/jRY7cdyhtz
— EleanorRudd (@EleanorRudd) January 16, 2016
I will always remember the time that I realised #GourmetBurgerKitchen were #scumbags #gourmetmurderkitchen #vegan #govegan
— Shirley Andrews (@kiksVeganUK) January 18, 2016
Genius marketing, take the piss out of those doing most to heal our planet #gourmetmurderkitchen #GBK
— Dario P Ⓥ (@dariopol) January 18, 2016
Not impressed with @gbkburgers putting up antagonising adverts like these on the underground!!! #vegan #gbk pic.twitter.com/4hUPrK9hnF
— Michaela Slade (@michaela_slade) January 18, 2016
It seems veganism on the rise when marketing takes a pathetically desperate turn for the crass #goodluckwiththat #gourmetmurderkitchen
— Harriet Layhe (@HarrietLayhe) January 17, 2016
@LucyHRichards @VeganRevoIution Please fill in this form https://t.co/I2w7BOxLgV #gourmetmurderkitchen
— VeganWiki (@VeganWiki) January 17, 2016
In a statement posted on their Facebook page, GBK said: “We’ve been reading the reaction to our latest advertising campaign and needless to say, we’re quite taken aback.
“Our intentions were light-hearted and not meant to cause any offence, but clearly we have, and for that we apologise.
“Having read all your comments and messages, we’ve made the decision to take down some of the adverts.”
But it’s simply not enough to appease the people, with commenters responding with messages like, “What a non-apology! … This is the same patronising tone, and the same lack of understanding, that your mindless, childish, bullying advertising campaign employed in the first place”.
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