Applebee's Restaurants LLC has stopped the airing of its commercials on CNN, following a social media uproar that occurred after the cable news network split its screen Thursday morning, showing an Applebee's advertisement for $1 boneless chicken wings alongside war footage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“When we were made aware that our ad was placed in this manner, we immediately reached out to CNN to pause our advertising on their network,” Applebee’s said in the statement. “It never should have aired, and we are disappointed in the actions of the network.”
The placement was widely criticized for being tone deaf, with even high-profile media punditry weighing on Twitter.
CNN hasn't issued a statement, but the cable news network has, according to Adweek, stopped deploying so-called "squeezeback" advertising during its coverage of Russia's unprovoked attack.
Commentary: This seems like an appropriate response to an unfortunate outcome involving modern TV ad formatting.
But the broader outcry might be a bit outsized.
For example, Next TV received a press release Friday morning on behalf of an executive for a video tech company, looking to gain profile by publicly addressing "Applebee's CNN reputation crisis."
Don't get us wrong -- it's not the way the restaurant's advertising should be shown on the network, and it should be corrected. But "reputation crisis"?
Are the constitutions of Applebee's consumers really so delicate that the chain's fiesta lime chicken will be forever tainted by seeing it alongside the tragic news of the day?
The company is, after all, advertising on a cable news network. ■
