B.C. company apologizes for '51st state' reference in ad following online outrage
Vitamin company Herbaland's ad was featured at the Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain station. The mural displayed a selection of the company's products set against a maple leaf and large text that read, "Herbaland proudly made in (the 51st state) Canada." In it, "(the 51st state)" is crossed out in white.
I get what they were going for here but wow thats one incredibly badly thought out ad campaign.
The whole thing was ill-advised, and the execution makes it even worse.
In the picture, the white line crossing it out looks more like vandalism than part of the actual ad.
I originally thought it was just reflection of light.
Yikes, I'm wondering how many people looked at and approved the ad through its different stages. This is an example why you need to get fresh eyes on things before publishing, people who are too close to a project have a skewed perspective.
I think the strike-through on the text should have been done better. I actually didn't even notice it, I'm guessing my brain dismissed it as glare or something.
If they really wanted to mention something, they should have just said "(never, ever the 51st state)." But I think it's just not that great an idea to acknowledge the concept at all.