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Huge Snack Brand Makes Political Move That Has Many Calling For Boycott
A move by one of America’s largest snack companies is not winning any love from its customer base.
Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo., announced on Sept. 17 the snack maker will offer rainbow colored Cool Ranch Doritos to symbolize the gay pride flag in a special promotion to raise money for a homosexual youth organization. The company is introducing the rainbow Doritos, which include hues of green, blue, purple and red, on Sept. 20 at the Dallas Pride Event.
Many Frito-Lay consumers said on social media they are ready to move on to other snacks, lambasting the company for the move in numerous tweets.
@Doritos So long, #Doritos. It was nice knowing you. Great idea, @fritolay. #LGBT is < 2% of population. Definitely worth the pandering.
— Thought Weasel (@ThoughtWeasel) September 17, 2015
I’ll never buy another bag of #Doritos. Nice work alienating customers, #FritoLay.
— SmallCorpses4Sale (@ProfitableParts) September 17, 2015
Twitter poster Jenn Jacques sarcastically tweeted that Doritos aren’t the only tortilla chips on the market.
@Dick_Gosinya no, let @Fritolay cater to the customers the value and lose the rest. I will be purchasing the same products from others. — Jenn Jacques (@JennJacques) September 17, 2015
The special snacks will not be sold in stores. They will be mailed to those who donate $10 or more to the It Gets Better Project on the non-profit’s website. The It Gets Better Project provides support for LGBT youth. The fundraising drive will end on Oct. 11. Consumers can also pledge support at the Doritos booth at the Dallas event to receive a bag of the brightly colored chips. Ram Krishnan, Frito-Lay Chief Marketing Officer, said the effort demonstrates the company’s efforts to promote inclusion. He said the marketing campaign is in keeping with PepsiCo’s longstanding views on diversity. “We support equality for all and believe everyone has a right to be true to themselves and live an authentic life without fear of discrimination,” Krishnan said. One of the criticisms of the promotion is the non-profit group at the center of the campaign was created by Dan Savage. Savage, a gay rights activist, is an outspoken opponent of the religious right and is known to publicly ridicule those who do not share his views. Those upset with the current alliance between Frito-Lay and Savage took to Twitter calling for a boycott.
@Doritos so disappointed that you would choose a group associated with Savage. Nasty, disgusting man filled with hate. #boycottdoritos
— HighHorse (@ConservativeLeo) September 17, 2015
Sick! Doritos Aligns with Anti-Christian Bully Dan Savage – Breitbart http://t.co/SoaJg8jHT1 via @BreitbartNews
— Justin Mitchell (@justinbmitchell) September 17, 2015
Krishnan said the company will continue with this and other promotions, even though other companies, like Wells Fargo and J.C. Penny’s, were boycotted after they implemented efforts to be LGBT friendly.
“Doritos the brand has stood ‘for the bold,’ and we believe there is nothing bolder than being yourself,” Krishnan said in a press release.
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/huge-snack-brand-makes-political-move-that-has-many-calling-for-boycott/
