Applebee’s, the fast casual eatery that has touted itself as your “neighborhood grill and bar” for more than 40 years now, would rather be known for their signature riblets than as the premier sponsor of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. But it was almost impossible to distinguish the two on Thursday, when CNN accidentally conflated the two messages.
CNN dropping an ill-timed Applebee’s commercial 😂
pic.twitter.com/4y97OyQSQj— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) February 24, 2022
Both the around-the-clock news network and the nationwide eatery took a serious shellacking on social media on Thursday when CNN—not wanting to cut away from its live coverage of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but still having advertisers to serve—decided to interrupt its footage of air raid sirens in Kyiv with a country-fried theme Applebee’s commercial in which a cowboy sang about the joys of wearing jeans that “fit just right” while shaking his thang. “Awkward,” “inappropriate,” “embarrassing,” and “poorly-timed” are just a few of the words that come to mind when describing the jarring juxtaposition. And now, as The Wrap reports, Applebee’s has pulled all its advertising from CNN in the event that another ad fail of such epic proportions should occur.
“We are deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine,” Applebee’s told Forbes staff writer Marty Swant in a statement about the mix-up. “When we were made aware that our ad was placed in this manner, we immediately reached out to CNN to pause our advertising on their network. It never should have aired, and we are disappointed in the actions of the network.”
I asked Applebee’s about the now-viral ad that aired on CNN today during the live broadcast of Russia's attack on Ukraine and just got the following statement: pic.twitter.com/q3rxA4cJxN
— Marty Swant (@martyswant) February 24, 2022
Also: Don’t miss the restaurant’s St. Patrick’s Day-themed Saintly Sips—a Jameson whiskey-based Tipsy Leprechaun or their Pot O’ Gold Colada, featuring Captain Morgan rum and mango—now just $5!!
(Via The Wrap)