Early on Monday, Lebanese restaurant Sandwich w Nos sparked online controversy after sharing an ad users deemed tasteless on social media platforms.
The promotional post offensively mocks people with gluten intolerance and labels those who might have other special dietary needs "petty" and "snobbish."
Just hours after it was posted, the ad triggered a wave of anger on Facebook and other platforms.
Here's how it all went down:
It all started when Sandwich w Noss shared this ad
"Since pettiness is now the name of the game, we now have a French-speaking employee at Sandwich w Nos at our Hamra branch. We're also introducing a new tawook platter, to cater to those classy Lebanese who don't eat that much and also to the 90 percent of the country's population who no longer eat gluten."
A few people thought it was hilarious
However, many others were having none of it
"What a shame!!"
Some were outraged...
"What this company's digital marketing manager doesn't know, is that insulting your clients isn't the right way to advertise products to them. There's no message behind your 'shock advertising,' and it isn't acceptable to pass such judgement on people who suffer from a food allergy/intolerance. Neither is it acceptable to mock people who speak French or those who look after what they eat."
"Don't try to joke around about an illness"
"This is so disrespectful"
"I happen to have Gluten intolerance."
"You took 'there's no such thing as bad marketing' way too seriously"
Not a first marketing miss for the restaurant
Earlier last month, Sandwich w Nos had to >issue an apology over a sexist ad promoting one of their burger offers.
The ad, which positioned two burgers side by side to resemble a pair of breasts, was posted on the restaurant's official Facebook page, offering free burgers to men through the sexually suggestive image.
Its caption >read:
"Because our hearts ache at the beauty we see, and because we're sick of smelling and not touching, we decided to please all men in the country by offering them a free burger with their six-wheel sandwich orders."
Soon after it went viral on social media, the ad sparked outrage among many, leading the restaurant to take it down and issue an apology.