I just read an article about how Red Robin has pulled a commercial from rotation because too many people complained about it. Basically, the commercial mentions that Red Robin serves veggie burgers "in case your teenage daughter is going through a phase."
The article included a quote from some offended vegetarian spokesperson who claims it's offensive to imply that vegetarianism is something that only teenage girls do.
Speaking as someone who (a) was a teenage girl who went through a vegetarian phase and (b) currently only knows vegetarians who are adult males, I can say with absolute certainty, "Lighten up, it was a joke."
Was it a funny joke? No. It was lazy and it wouldn't have gotten a laugh at any standup show that I've ever been to. But it wasn't meant to be taken seriously at all so the idea that so many people complained about it until it had to be pulled proves that we live in a whiny, uptight society that needs to take a damn chill pill.
One of my best friends is a vegetarian and I eat at Red Robin with him and his wife quite often. If he saw the commercial I doubt he'd get mad that they called his eating habits a fickle teenage girl. But he might think something along the lines of "Mmm, burgers."
To be honest, I think it's ridiculous that they feel the need to mention their veggie burgers at all. I'm pretty sure having a vegetarian option is standard these days since so much of the population is vegetarian. They're not going to make a commercial where they sit around listing everything on the menu so why bother pointing out you can get burgers made out of things other than beef on your burger? Did the commercial mention turkey patties, too? Are the no-red-meat-but-poultry-is-okay eaters going to get offended, too?
Be seeing you.
-Sally
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