Lebanese restaurant sparks controversy with offensive ad

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: 

"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." 

"What a shame!!" 

"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."

"I happen to have Gluten intolerance." 

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.