8572: Kraft Serves Up Cultural Cluelessness.

USA TODAY reported on the new campaign for Athenos products from Kraft that features ethnic and even age-based stereotypes. Of course, Kraft officials insist the work was shown to and adored by Greek-Americans—which actually indicates the advertiser knew they were crossing a cultural line. When will these corporate assholes recognize their own latent racism? Better yet, when will they catch a clue that collaborating with advertising agencies where exclusivity reigns will ultimately lead to insensitive and offensive results? Perhaps the hypocritical clowns at Kraft should review their own commitments to People and Diversity.

Kraft ads with criticizing grandma get criticized

By Bruce Horovitz

This isn’t the kind of commercial you see often: a grandmother berating her granddaughter for dressing “like a prostitute.”

In another spot, Grandma tells her granddaughter that she’s “going to hell” for living with a guy to whom she’s not married.

Perhaps the real shocker is the marketer behind these ads: Kraft Foods. Today, the nation’s biggest foodmaker begins airing the provocative ads for its Athenos products. The line is targeted at women in their 20s. Sales of Greek eats are off the charts, with Greek yogurt sales up 160% over the past year, to $589 million, Nielsen reports.

Even before the ad airs, the campaign — aimed at going viral — is raising eyebrows for its saucy language and stereotypes of Greek culture.

“These commercials are not appropriate from a Greek perspective,” says Maria Anagnostopoulos, program director at The Greek Institute, a non-profit cultural center. She wants them pulled.

But Kraft executives, intent on an image uplift, say they have no such plans. “While these ads may be controversial, for the most part people will see them for the light-hearted fun they are having,” says Jill Baskin, director of advertising. “Any Greek Americans we ran them by thought they were really funny.”

In the most controversial of the three spots, a Greek grandmother (“yiayia” in Greek) twice tells her granddaughter — who is hosting a party — that she’s dressed “like a prostitute.” While Granny doesn’t approve of her granddaughter’s attire, she does approve of one thing: the brand of Greek hummus the young woman is serving — Athenos.

What about youngsters who see the spot and turn to their folks asking: What’s a prostitute?

“I don’t want to be in the business of advising parents how to talk to their children,” Baskin says. “There’s all sorts of media out there that’s far more provocative than this.”

Public relations guru Katie Paine says the ad will have strong appeal to the brand’s young target but won’t likely meet Kraft’s goal of going viral. “You just can’t plan to go viral.”

Brand expert Martin Lindstrom calls the ads “a desperate attempt to generate attention” and predicts they will be axed.