Krispy Kreme 'KKK' advertising campaign fail: Company apologizes for offensive message
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is apologizing for a recent campaign that used "KKK" in its promotional material and offended many customers.
"KKK" was the acronym for "Krispy Kreme Klub," an activities group meant to occupy kids in the United Kingdom this week while they're out of school on holiday, the Hull Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
A store spokeswoman told the paper the promotion came from Krispy Kreme's head office, "so it has been advertised at all the outlets."
"We do believe this was a completely unintentional oversight on the part of our longtime franchise partners in the U.K.," according to a statement shared with USA TODAY Network by company spokesperson Lafeea Watson.
According to the now-deleted schedule of the week's events, "KKK Wednesday" was bookended by "Colouring Tuesday" and "Face Painting Thursday."
KKK, which in this case was intended to stand for "Krispy Kreme Klub," is, of course, more infamously associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group.
"We are aware of the Hull store's unfortunate naming choice for its Club program," Lafeea Watson, Krispy Kreme's PR manager, told The Huffington Post in a statement, "and we are truly sorry for any inconvenience or offense this misstep may have caused our fans."
"We do believe this was a completely unintentional oversight on the part of our longtime franchise partners in the UK. They have taken quick and appropriate actions to remove the materials online and in-shops, and have wholeheartedly apologized to their consumers."
