Burger King’s Texican mess, and American Apparel’s Woody Allen sex slam

Good day for royal diplomacy, Bad day for adding insult to injury

GOOD DAY FOR: Royal diplomacy, after Burger King pulled a European ad campaign that showed a squat Mexican wrapped in his country’s flag standing next to a tall American cowboy. The Tex-Mex-influenced “Texican Whopper” ad violated Mexico’s exclusive right to images of its flag, Mexico’s ambassador to Spain argued. Burger King also apologized, saying the ad campaign was “not intended to offend anyone”—presumably including short Mexicans. (Reuters)

BAD DAY FOR: Adding insult to injury, after retailer American Apparel responded to a $10 million lawsuit by Woody Allen—in which the actor-director says American Apparel used his image in ads without his permission—by arguing that it can’t have damaged his reputation more than Allen had already, and that use of his image isn’t worth $10 million. “After the various sex scandals that Woody Allen has been associated with,” said company lawyer Stuart Slotnick, “corporate America’s desire to have Woody Allen endorse their product is not what he may believe it is.” (AP in USA Today)

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