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Billboards pitching a cheap vodka to New Yorkers were attacked Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League as anti-Semitic.
The Wódka vodka promotion features two dogs, one in a Santa hat and the other in a yarmulke, and include the message, “Christmas Quality, Hanukkah Pricing.”
ADL regional director Ron Meier said the ad “reinforces anti-Semitic stereotypes.”
“In a crude and offensive way of trying to make a point that their vodka is high quality and inexpensive, the billboards evoke a Jewish holiday to imply something that is cheap and of lesser value when compared to the higher value of a Christian holiday,” Meier said.
One of the billboards along the West Side Highway was taken down Tuesday, after the vodka company Panache Beverages in the Flatiron District was bombarded with complaints.
The company vowed to pull all the ads immediately.
“Particularly with the long history of anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jews and money, with the age-old notion that Jews are cheap, to use the Jewish holiday in dealing with issues of money is clearly insensitive and inappropriate,” Meier said.
Wódka vodka — which sells for $9 for a 750 milliliter bottle — has a reputation for irreverent ads, including ones reading “Escort Quality, Hooker Pricing” and “Hamptons Quality, Newark Pricing.”
“We’re surprised. We’re surprised people are vitriolically offended by what we’ve done,” said Dale James, co-owner of the vodka company, adding the ads were not intended to be offensive.
“This is a premium vodka, at a value price. That’s all we’re saying,” Dale told CBS Channel 2 news. “It’s all about value and quality.”
He said he’s even gotten death threats over the ads and has been compared to a Nazi.
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