Dunkin Donuts Pulls Ad Featuring Rachael Ray In A Scarf That Looks Too Arab

Dunkin Donuts has pulled a commercial featuring pitchwoman Rachael Ray wearing a scarf because Michelle Malkin and other conservative observers thought the scarf looked too much like a keffiyeh, what Malkin describes as "the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad."

The Boston Globe reports that Dunkin Donuts caved to pressure from the conservative blogosphere — and the fear of a mass boycott — and removed the ad:

The company at first pooh-poohed the complaints, claiming the black-and-white wrap was not a keffiyeh. But the right-wing drumbeat on the blogosphere continued and by yesterday, Dunkin' Donuts decided it'd be easier just to yank the ad.

Said the suits in a statement: ''In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.''

Malkin praised the decision in her column, writing,

It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists. Too many of them bend over backward in the direction of anti-American political correctness....

Fashion statements may seem insignificant, but when they lead to the mainstreaming of violence -- unintentionally or not -- they matter. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. In post-9/11 America, vigilance must never go out of style.

Malkin has previously lauded Dunkin Donuts for its support of immigration laws.

Below, watch Ray promote Dunkin' Donuts in a 2007 ad.

Comments

[JanP]

I found this on Pamela Gellar's http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/

I think it explains the situation quite well. It is more than "Just a scarf":

UPDATE: Nidra Poller weighs in:

"I took another look at the Rachael Ray Dunkin' Donuts ad: if it isn't a keffieh it is worn as if it were a keffieh. If it isn"t a keffieh, how in the world could she justify wearing a rag like that? It is totally incongruous. No one ever ever ever wears an item like that for an ad, a TV show or any other public appearance . It's all stringy and downright ugly.

(Continued)

[demomntgirl]

omg it is not even the samae pattern, it is paisley!
When we talk about scarves as an some psychological implicatio­n...
we have all gone INSANE!
Of course, if the nutty right wing pundits can get us to pay attention to a PAISLEY SCARF with outrage...­we don't pay attention to 2 WARS, RECESSION, Corruption in the White House, our children falling farther down the line internationally in EDUCATION. American people can afford a scarf...th­ey just can't afford to go to the DOCTOR when they are really ILL!
Somebody better tell Hillary she is a promoter of terrorism!!
Scarves are "IN" as an accessory in the FASHION WORLD....n­ot the terroist world...ge­t a life for heavens sake!

[JanP]

Wearing a scarf like that is akin to the graphics of the al Dura scene: no news report is ever filmed that way, framed that way. The al Dura image was filmed as a poster, used as a poster.

This scarf is unlike any scarf worn by any woman wanting to look good to promote a product. If it isn't a keffieh it is made to look like one. It's either a frank handshake or a wink of complicity. The scarf detracts from the advertised product, messes with the lady's outfit, sticks out like a sore thumb.

I should know. I live in France. We are famous for knowing how to wear scarves. And you can't take two steps in Paris these days without seeing an idiot with a keffieh wrapped around his or her neck.

The joke is, the jihadis they are honoring have an eye on those silly necks! The cutrate jihad fans claim to think the scarf means peace. Are you kidding? Have they spent the last 10 years in some back to nature colony with no TV, newspapers, or internet? Of course they know what it stands for...half way. They think it stands for destroy Israel, and maybe the Jews too and, stretch it a bit, get Bush/Cheney and anyone who agrees with them.

No, you idiots, it means CUT ON THE DOTTED LINE."

[TS]

Although I always appreciate being called an "idiot," I'm going to have to burst your little bubble here. The garment in question is paisley, not checked. If you can come up with an image of Arafat wearing a paisley scarf, you might have some credibility. Given that it's very unlikely that you can, in large part because the message is in the pattern (and frankly, even that's an absolutely ludicrous bit of over reaching), you've got no point and appear to be ranting about a woman in a freakin' paisley scarf. That's not radical, not political, not anything, it's only a paisley scarf. I don't know whether to feel sorrier for you because you are either so fearful or so completely uninformed that you somehow see this as being some sort of statement of support for terrorism, or whether I should feel bad because you're apparently too lazy to even consider the most obvious and basic facts before posting complete nonsense, or whether I should be embarassed for you because you chose to post something so colossaly boneheaded while calling everyone else idiots.

Go to Little Green Footballs or some other right wing echo chamber, they may be more receptive to this nonsense, whivh would make your "idiot" remark just a bit more accurate.

[londubh]

I guess no one was paying enough attention to Michelle Malkin. So what'd she do? Create a bogus brouhaha over a little scarf. So who's the winner in all of this? Not Rachel Ray. Not Dunkin' Donuts. Not the consumer. It's Michelle Malkin and her buds. She feels empowered. She feels relevant.

So what will Michelle's next stunt be? Who cares? Will Ann Coulter try to out Michelle Michelle? What garment will Ann go after? Or maybe she won't go after a garment maybe a hair style or lack their of.

Brazilians are becoming more and more popular or is being written about more. Well apparently in Islam pubic regions and armpit hairs are shaved. So if you have a Brazilian you must be with the terrorists.

[calgary]

Right on. I did not know who Michelle Malkin was until this and now she is famous and loving every minute of it. I guess this is the American way, regular people can get a lot of attention for doing the right or wrong things and corporations are free to make whatever decisions that make sense to them.

[sociocanuck]

Fortunately, Tim Hortons will never cave to this kind of goofiness. Mark my words.

Mostly because they're too busy dealing with other cock-ups to notice criticism from right wing yahoos.

[roystr]

this began as a family letter.

mom, (AND THE REST OF YOU) send this to all you can think of that go to dunks,
{if you think its the right thing to do} ;-)
find a new place to spend your money rather than supporting bigots.
if you support them with your money,, its very close to carrying signs and marching with
them as well. would you "say" a racist hateful thing to a Muslim person in a store line?
or walking past one on the sidewalk?
then why support a buisness that by its behavour practices those views? not to mention
makeing a profit from them.

roy
when i read about this and HOW dunks responded i couldn't believe it. and NOT because
the scarf supported terrorism,it didnt, it was paisley,just a black n white paisley. the right wing bigots cant even get who they HATE right. lol
anybody know the phone # or e-mail for "the paisley haters for the amerikan ways of decency and apple pie" ?
we could maybe help clear this up a bit. i mean if your mind is all made up to HATE some group,it would be helpfull
if you HATED the intended group/GROUPS of people.
roystr
fulton,ny
13069

[HamletsMill]

I think it is time to start sending EVERYONE up on this absurd planet. Everyone from the "Mental East" on all sides needs to stop seeing themselves as the f**king center of the Universe every minute of every day and everyone else who plays into the same conflict mindset ditto. Everyone involved needs to find something else to do with their lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmMXk0bA8gk

Michelle Malkin is an idiot anyway. She eats, drinks, and s**ts ground glass for a living. What a shrew.

Dunk'in Donuts has pretty good coffee. But I'm trying to cut back.

I may sound like I'm out of touch, but who in the hell is Rachael Ray? I have never heard of her.

[lbsaltzman]

Rachael Ray is a celebrity chef - has a reasonably entertaining cooking show.

[AdultFilmLegend]

Dear Rachel: if you come over here and cook something I will do the dishes.

[gevan]

Michelle Malkin making me feel sorry for RR? Gutless DD making me boycott their products? This is CRAZY stuff.

[JeffersonState]

Michelle Malkin got her panties in a bunch? Over this?

Wasn't the last time this media whore got airitme when she chased the little disabled bot around for wanting affordable insurance?

What a hack.

[Jackpatzer]

I'm sorry, Dunkin' Donuts, but too little, too late. Think of the all of the terrorists who were given comfort and inspiration by Rachel Ray and her scarf and her delicious iced coffee. Americas fat fried pastry chains were supposed to be the first line of defense for our country in the War on Terror. I don't think that Dunkin' and Ray could have planned this by themselves. I see Scott McClellan's hand in this.

[missjane]

LOL

[LettuceB1]

Won't be going to Dunkin anymore if they insist on using STUPIDITY as the secret ingredient in their coffee. WTF people are dieing in Iraq and the right-wing-nuts are worried about a scarf. McBush is going down! LOL

[geber22]

This is the second most influential conservative blogger. I would be shocked at how dumb this is and sounds, but I don't know what emotion to feel. Anger, rage, pity ... can this really be happening. Conservatives have gotten away with their Islam-phobia for too long. The mere term islamo-facism is beyond racist.

It's funny how when these conservatives rant about terrorism they never bring up the Oklahoma bombing, which was the second greatest act of terrorism on U.S. soil, to my knowledge anyway. I guess a crazy white guy killing 500 people including babies, toddlers and children, whom were in the daycare doesn't bother them. Now a person of color doing that same thing would be unacceptable, in fact a person wearing the same scarf as a person of color while shooting a commercial for a FREAKING DONUT! ...

Forget it, stupid is , stupid does!!! ... and DOES!!

[boltaflex]

There's no use in writing to Dunkin' Donuts.
THE CARLYLE GROUP OWNS DUNKIN' BRANDS.
They also own Dr. Pepper.
Donuts aren't evil. Great tasting soda pop, in and of itself, isn't evil. Jury is out about coffee.
But the Carlyle Group represents everything I resent about global corporate influence.
So I can't patronize these products anymore.
I refuse to be that hypocritical. It's horrible enough that I still have to buy gasoline--
it'll be a while until I can afford an alternative.
But this small change in where I stop for my morning coffee is one I'll gladly make.

[charmedgreenquark]

Dunkin donuts is owned by Carlyle Group, but Dr. Pepper is owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (formerly Cadbury Schweppes), so drink up. Boycotting Dunkin Donuts for not having backbone against the squeals of idiots wouldn't be a bad idea, though. Has anyone proposed this yet?

[DonDavis]

Dunkin’ Donuts’ New Slogan: ‘We Still Have Trans Fats, But No Ara-Fats’
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=1873

[nodonjuan]

Too funny!

[HamletsMill]

LOL! Excellent.

[jmrozendaal]

Now we know. Dunkin Donuts thinks it can sell more of it's sugar bombs to right-wingers than to lefties. Watch Ann Coulter's waist line. Or don't.

[Centaur]

Maybe we, on the left, should boycott "dunkin" for folding under the 'right-wing slime machine. Boy, talk about "wussies".

[GBartrem]

Rachael Ray is sure pretty.... with that scarf on. Why on earth does it matter? Oh that's right, My country does'nt talk to terrorists­.... even when in most parts of this world my country is concidered a terrorist nation.