A controversial billboard has been taken down after a discount vodka company was accused of using anti-Semitic language in the advertisement. Situated near the West Side Highway in Manhattan, the advertisement for Wodka vodka read, "Christmas quality, Hanukkah pricing," according to WABC.
After receiving numerous complaints about the billboard, the Anti Defamation League (ADL) issued a press release saying that the vodka ad promoted anti-Semitic stereotypes and should be taken down.
"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," Ron Meier, ADL New York regional director said in the release. "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."
Speaking with New York's CBS 2, Wodka CEO James Dale said he had received death threats and been compared to Hitler since the outrage over the billboard began.
The company also tweeted an apology on Tuesday:
Meier praised the company's decision in a second press release.
"We welcome the response of Wodka vodka, and are glad that they were sensitive to our concerns and the concerns of the many New Yorkers who were offended by this advertisement," Meier said in the release.
The company, known for its eye-catching ad campaigns, has used similar pitches on other billboards posted in New York City.
"A previous ad in Times Square read: Hamptons quality, Newark pricing, and another in SoHo read: Escort quality, Hooker pricing," WABC reported.
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