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| Photo by: TWITTER |
Dunkin' Donuts "issued an apology to Liverpool fans" after posting a mocked-up version of the club's crest, which replaced the symbolic "eternal flames" with iced coffees and the "You'll Never Walk Alone" motto with the words "America Runs On Dunkin'," according to Tom Edwards of the London TELEGRAPH.
The U.S. company, one of Liverpool's official commercial partners, "incensed supporters" when it posted the image as part of a social media campaign, asking fans to send in ideas for their own crest. Many Liverpool supporters "took particular exception to the coffee cups covering up the flames on either side of the crest, as they were added in memory of the 96 people who lost their lives in the Hillsborough disaster." After withdrawing the image, Dunkin' Donuts said, "As a proud partner of LFC, we did not intend any offense, particularly to the club's supporters. We have removed the tweet and halted the campaign immediately" (
TELEGRAPH, 2/26). The BBC reported Charlotte Hennessy, whose father James died at Hillsborough, "called the advert an 'embarrassing mistake.'" She said the club's symbolic crest was important, "not just to the families, but to the club as a whole." Hennessy:
"It's something very special and very meaningful. I don't believe that it was done to cause offense. We are sitting here at the inquests every day, there are bigger things to be offended about" (
BBC, 2/26).
