Burger giant Red Robin is facing criticism this week from patrons regarding a commercial that calls sought after vegan or vegetarian options a phase, according to a number of reports.
The commercial was part of the company's Million Reasons (#millionreasons) campaign highlighting the burger chain's 24 different burger options.
"We even have a garden burger... just in case your teenage daughter is going through a phase," says the spokesperson in the commercial.
Red Robin has been pushing to expand their base, but Kevin Caufield, the company's senior director of communications, spoke to The Huffington Post and said the ad will not be on the air for much longer.
"We created a number of ads and we have a rotation schedule that is intended to keep the campaign fresh," he said. "This particular ad is planned to be out of rotation and no longer on the air very soon."
Caufield does not anticipate the ad will have any lasting effect on Red Robin's business, and criticism is expected to disappear as soon as the ad does.
Adweek reports that the backlash could have stemmed from the actress's "overdone delivery" because it comes off as "condescending."
Watch the commercial here:
Vegetarians quickly took to social media to express their outrage.
Chris Ziegler, senior editor at The Verge, tweeted, "red robin says it offers a gardenburger 'just in case your teenage daughter is going through a phase." how many groups did it just insult?"
Adland's official twitter account posted, "#millionreasons to piss off vegetarians - Red Robin."
Earlier this year Red Robin received much more favorable press when a managerat one of the company's North Carolina restaurants, who goes by Charles, wrote a little note to a pregnant customer saying "MOM 2 BEE GOOD LUC" on the bill, and then removed the cost of her meal.
Charles told Consumerist that it's part of the Red Robin's culture to pick up on the small things in order to make the experience more special.
We "listen to them, and make sure they leave feeling appreciated and valued," he said. "If our guests know we welcome their feedback, I think they'll talk with us and speak up... to say they had a positive and satisfying experience with us, and hopefully also to say they'll be back again soon."
