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Booze Ruse Offends Jews

NY Post

A city vodka manufacturer erected a billboard showing a dog in a yarmulke next to the slogan “Christmas quality, Hanukkah pricing” — prompting Jewish groups to demand that the sign come down.

Wodka vodka — which has featured other ads such as “[…] quality, […] pricing” — posted the billboard on the West Side Highway at 132nd Street in Harlem.

“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,” Ron Meier of the Anti-Defamation League said yesterday.

The red-faced company said it had removed the sign by last night.

“Although rarely serious, we apologize to anyone we may have offended through our holiday campaign,” Wodka said on Twitter.

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16 Comments

  • Milhouse

    The ADL needs to get its head out of its fundament. The ad is clever, and no more offensive than ads generally are. Jews *are* cheap. I am sick of the new politically-correct version of anti-antisemitism, in which the offense is stereotyping. No, rabbosai, there is nothing wrong with stereotyping, especially when the stereotype is true; what is wrong with antisemitism is that it actually hurts actual Jews. If no Jews were hurt in the production of this ad, and it expresses no actual hostility to Jews, then it’s not antisemitic.

  • 2 sides

    Yes, it does insinuate that Jews are cheap, but other than that, the dog in the Yarmulke, santa was also a dog….

  • Hella funny!

    Thats Hella funny!! Why do Jews take things so offensive? Im jewish and I find it funny!! I have been telling people I cant wait till Black Friday-Its the biggest Jewish holiday!! I think it should be called Jewish Friday!!

  • Andrea Schonberger

    I can’t believe I’m saying this but Milhouse is right. I found the ad to be funny but since I’m a cat person I wished the ad men had used cats instead of dogs.

  • shlomo

    if it was cat milhouse was agree. lol bad taste, but any antisemitic. sure that in maiami company, that do this advertising work mostly Jews. bad humor only. ADL have to find real object

  • Millhouse and friends

    If I am offended,then it IS offensive. I WAS offended, ergo I found the ad inappropriate and derogatory. Noone can tell me that I should not feel that way. It is MY feeling. That doesn’t come from nowhere; it comes from years of exposure to a myriad of insensitive or downright mean verbal or written references to Jews being cheap, Chanukah being a substitute for Christmas, Jews being money hungry, etc. I don’t need to see an ad connoting Chanukah as the “cheap” holiday, thank you. But if you’ve not been similarly bombarded, maybe you don’t mind. Please don’t tell me Jews are cheap, etc. Mr. Millhouse. The comment that the stereotype is true not only insults me, it insults you. I am not cheap, nor am I money hungry. I don’t even LIKE money.

  • shlomo as always with bad English

    oy wey! what americans understood in antisemitism??? bobe maise!
    да?