What did Krispy Kreme post? Racial slur in campaign controversy explained as donut brand comes under fire

American multinational donut company and coffeehouse chain Krispy Kreme recently came under fire following the release of its latest campaign, which allegedly contained the highly offensive racial slur "c*on".

As part of its new commercial for Australia and New Zealand, Krispy Kreme used donuts in place of "o" in many words, including "congrats." But at one point in the ad, the word is spelled using two donuts or "double o," appearing something like "c*ongrats."

As soon as the campaign went viral on social media, many people pointed out that the brand used the racial slur "c*on" which was extremely insulting to people of African, Australian First Nations, or Pacific Island heritage. The slur is used derogatorily to describe dark-skinned individuals belonging to these communities. Since then, netizens have called out the donut company for being racist.

However, Krispy Kreme has issued a public apology, as per the New York Post, saying that they never meant to offend anybody.

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“This is what happens when there’s ignorance”: Krispy Kreme faces online backlash in the wake of racist campaign

Krispy Kreme’s latest campaign for the Australia-New Zealand zone was made by the creative agency Abel in collaboration with Limehouse Production. The purpose of the campaign was to encourage consumers to choose the brand’s box of donuts for major celebrations such as sports events, birthdays, anniversaries, and major life milestones.

In the campaign, various celebratory words that contain "o" were replaced by donuts such as "footy," "movie," and "hooray." While all these were portrayed properly, the problem occurred when the word "congrats" appeared. Here, instead of using one donut to replace the single "o," the company ended up using two donuts indicating a double o, which spelled the word "congrats" as "c*ongrats."

For those unaware, the word "c*on" is a racial slur which is why the brand-new Krispy Kreme campaign is now facing severe online backlash.

A netizen says that the reason behind the campaign's racial slur was the lack of diversity in the company. (Image via X/Lorraine King)

A netizen slams the donut brand. (Image via X/Sokari F Charles)

A netizen says the racism in the campaign was intentional. (Image via X/name_and_number)

A netizen mocks the donut brand. (Image via X/Paul Hampartsoumian)

A netizen points out that it was easy to miss the racial slur in the new campaign. (Image via X/Baby Boss)

As soon as the campaign’s racist angle went viral on the internet, the part containing the offensive slur was taken down from YouTube, where it was originally released. However, the rest of the clipping is still available on the platform. Not only that, but the campaign (minus the racial slur part) is also being rolled out across several digital platforms, out-of-home advertising, and in-store media.

Krispy Kreme has, however, issued a mea culpa following the online backlash. Its ANZ (Australia-New Zealand) Marketing Director Olivia Sutherland told the New York Post in a statement on behalf of the company:

“We never intended to offend any person or group. We are sorry for the oversight and have removed all congratulations-related ads from the campaign.”

Apart from netizens, anti-racism campaigners such as Australia-based Dr. Stephen Hagan told Mumbrella that the campaign was "an absolute disgrace" and that the fact that an ad like that can even come out in 2023, especially when the product in concern "is very popular with people of color," is shameful.