In Speaking of \'Shiksas,\' Peeps Acknowledges Its Marketing Went a Bit Too Far

Just Born, the maker of Peeps, has decided to withdraw this e-card from a humorous campaign for its Christmas candies. The card uses the Yiddish word “shiksa” and shows a Peep wearing a yarmulke.

In another example of mishegas, Madison Avenue style, a marketer has withdrawn a humorous e-card that was part of an advertising campaign because the Yiddish-infused joke on the e-card ruffled a consumer's feathers.

The e-card is part of a lighthearted campaign from Just Born, the maker of Peeps candies, that promotes products like the new Peeps Candy Cane Flavored Dipped Marshmallow Chicks. The idea behind the campaign is that it would express what the company terms “Peepsonality,” reflecting the offbeat, sometimes wacky, interest in Peeps among consumers in their teens, 20s and 30s.

The campaign, by the New York agency Terri & Sandy Solution, offers consumers a chance to send the e-cards, called “Peeps Offerings,” to friends and family as part of efforts to acknowledge the holiday season as a time for “peace, love, joy and reconciliation.”

The e-card in question carries this message: “I'm sorry for bringing a shiksa to your Hanukkah party.” Shiksa is the Yiddish word for a woman who is not Jewish, and to some it carries negative connotations beyond that straightforward definition.

Next to the message is an illustration of a new Peeps candy wearing a yarmulke.

Among the messages on the other e-cards, which are to be available on the Peeps Facebook page and Peeps Web site, are “I'm sorry for singing along during your Christmas recital” and “I'm sorry for using mistletoe as an excuse for kissing your mom.”

In a statement, Matt Pye, a vice president at Just Born, said, “At a time when holidays can be stressful, the Peeps e-cards were designed to offer a bit of fun and comic relief.” He added, however, that “We are sensitive to the concern any consumer may share and will not include this e-card” as part of the campaign.

At the end of his statement, Mr. Pye reiterated that the e-cards “were meant to add joy to the season.”

As of this week, Just Born had received only one complaint about the shiksa e-card. The consumer, in an e-mail to this reporter after she shared her opinion with Just Born, said she was grateful for companies that “actually return calls and appreciate feedback.”

In advertising, there is a lively debate about how to respond to consumer complaints in an era when it is so much easier for consumers to share complaints with marketers as well as to share those complaints with other consumers.

Some say they believe an outstanding ad campaign is somewhat polarizing by definition and negative reaction is a sign the ads are working. Others say that antagonizing consumers is not an effective strategy, no matter how few complaints there may be.

Stuart Elliott has been the advertising columnist at The New York Times since 1991. Follow @stuartenyt on Twitter and sign up for In Advertising, his weekly e-mail newsletter.