Anti-Semitic Vodka Billboard Pulled After Sparking Outrage

A recent vodka billboard ad in New York City has been pulled after a flood of complaints were lodged that the ad was anti-semitic.

In the ad the billboard read:

“Christmas Quality, Hanukkah Pricing.”

In their complain the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said:

“In a crude and offensive way of trying to make a point that their vodka is high quality and inexpensive, the billboards evoke a Jewish holiday to imply something that is cheap and of lesser value when compared to the higher value of a Christian holiday.”

The ADL goes on to state that the billboard “reinforces anti-Semitic stereotypes.”

In defending the ad the creator (a Jewish man himself) says that it was celebrating the “understated” holiday of Hanukkah. The creator tells CNN:

“As a Jew growing up, the only thing we could say was we had eight nights, and Christmas had only day, so we had eight days for the price of one,” and “With our brand, our message is you can get more for less, eight nights versus one, and we don’t need to wrap ourselves in fancy packaging.”

Do you buy the ad creators reasoning behind why the ad stated what it did? As a Jewish man he should have realized immediately that the billboard would spark Jewish spending stereotypes.

[Billboard Image via ADL]