It turns out that fact really is scarier than fiction. The latest case in point is Dunkin' Donuts decision to pull an online ad promoting the chain's ice coffee and starring Rachel Ray because some conservative bloggers said the scarf she was wearing reminded them of a traditional Arab headdress called a keffiyeh.
Among those most incensed by Ms. Ray's black and white scarf with a paisley design was Fox News' commentator Michelle Malkin. She wrote in her blog, "It was with some dismay that I learned last week that Dunkin' Donuts' spokeswoman Rachael Ray, the ubiquitous TV hostess, posed for one of the company's ads in what appeared to be a black-and-white keffiyeh." (See the AdAge.com article for an image.)
According to Ms. Malkin, the keffiyeh, the traditional headdress worn by Arab men, "has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad."
Margie Myers, senior VP-communications for Dunkin' Brands, said the company decided to pull the online ad "because the possibility of misperception detracted from its original intention to promote our iced coffee."
Ms. Malkin was pleased with Dunkin' Donuts' decision. She wrote, "It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists."
Ms. Ray had no comment, according to AdAge.com.
Discussion Question: Did Dunkin' Donuts make the right decision in pulling its online iced coffee ad with Rachel Ray and her black and white scarf?
[Editor's Commentary] Interestingly, Ms. Malkin is the author of a book entitled Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild. It appears as though people of various political leanings can go a bit overboard.
Based on her own post, Ms. Malkin never sought to determine whether Ms. Ray was actually wearing a keffiyeh (she wasn't) and wearing a scarf purchased in a retail store in the U.S. (she was).
In this case, it's safe to say that Ms. Malkin was neither fair nor balanced. Commercials cost money to make and Dunkin' Donuts wound up having to deal with an issue that distracted it from the business of selling beverages and foods. As a self-professed believer in the free market system, Ms. Malkin should offer the chain a public apology. She made a mistake and got in the way of fair commerce. We don't need to know what she was wearing to have reached that conclusion.