Do we apologize too much?
As comedian Bill Maher pleads with the nation to stop the flood of mea culpas, people in the PR field explain the breakout of ‘I’m sorry’ reactions and why it’s not so bad.
In a radio ad, the company playfully suggested that petting a pit bull is “risky” behavior. A pit bull advocacy group called out McDonald’s, and the fast feeder issued this tweet: “We apologize for running a local ad insensitive in its mention of pit bulls. We didn’t mean to offend anyone and the ad is being pulled.”
Several comments on a PR Daily story about the incident made light of the situation. “Wow, you’d think [McDonald’s] just burnt down an orphanage,” wrote commenter PR Pat. “Thank goodness for all these [politically incorrect] comments, it keeps PR folks employed.”
Pit bulls, as opponents of the ad noted, are an unfairly maligned breed because of the misinformation that ads (such as the one from McDonald’s) spread.
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