A new billboard promoting a kettle at J.C. Penney has received a series of bizarre complaints from customers who have stated that it looks like Adolf Hitler.
The product is exclusively available in its stores, and, in order to promote it, a huge billboard has been placed above the 405 Interstate Highway in southern California.
However, it hasn’t had the desired effect as commuters who drive along the route near Culver City have find that the kettle bares on uncanny resemblance to the leader of the Nazi’s in Germany in the 1930s.
The huge sign , which measures around 10 feet tall and 36 foot wide, manages to look like Hitler as its handle mimics his hair and fringe whilst the teapot lid, due to its thin center and thick top, resembles his moustache.
All of this is then compounded by the spout which because of a misplaced bell above it, looks like Hitler raising his hand to give the Nazi salut.
Various travelers have taken to Twitter to complain about the resemblance, with @scplanetable tweeting: “Every time I see that JC Penny billboard with the teapot, I keep seeing Hitler. Seriously, the thing looks exactly like Hitler. 405 S, man.” Whilst @benarilee remarked, “Uh, no thanks, JC Penny. I don’t think I want your HITLER teapot.”
Recently, the company released an advert apologising for the changes to the store. The voice over for the advert states, “It’s no secret, recently J.C. Penney changed. Some changes you liked and some you didn’t, but what matters from mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing, to listen to you. To hear what you need, to make your life more beautiful. Come back to J.C. Penney, we heard you. Now, we’d love to see you.”
The Hitler kettle is worth $45 and can be purchased from your nearest J.C. Penney store. Do you think that the kettle looks like Adolf Hitler?
[J.C. Penney photo courtesy Sam Howzit via Flickr and Creative Commons]
