If you understand the innuendo in Kraft Macaroni & Cheese’s new ad slogan — “#SendNoods” — then you’re probably too old to be eating it.
Kraft is removing all traces of their latest campaign throughout social media after their attempt at a tongue-in-cheek viral moment prompted backlash from parents who called the joke “offensive” and — despite no kids being involved in the advertisements — “sexualizing children.”
Earlier this month, the food conglomerate introduced the #SendNoods promotional campaign tied to National Noodle Day on October 6, urging customers to bestow boxes of their Kraft powdered mac to loved ones who might benefit from comfort food during the pandemic.
“In these strange times, people are in need of extra comfort. That’s why it’s always a nice gesture to send noods, so they know you’re thinking of them,” said comedian Vanessa Bayer in a recent commercial, which has since been expunged from social media, according to BuzzFeed News. “Noods, I mean. Not nudes.”
However, many parents didn’t find humor in the suggestive pun. BuzzFeed News captured several comments prior to Kraft’s removal of the commercial on Instagram.
“This is not okay,” one responded. “Don’t you realize that a huge portion of the people who actually eat your mac n’ cheese are children?!” one commenter wrote. “Please delete this!! Unacceptable! Switching over to Annie’s organics.”
“I do not want my boys growing up and seeing a commercial where they joke about the exploitation of children!” added another.
One parent blamed Kraft for a marketing tactic that “grooms children into believing it’s OK and even FUNNY to ‘send noods,’ ” they claimed.
The post was quickly overtaken by conspiracists who stoked fears of widespread, high-profile child trafficking — one of the prevailing theories of QAnon supporters — and implicated Kraft as a complicit player in the alleged criminal scheme, adding the telltale hashtag #SaveTheChildren to their comments.
The company claimed that “20,000 consumers” participated in the promotion. Nevertheless, Kraft announced in an Instagram story, according to People, that the campaign would be cut short.
“We sincerely appreciate and hear all of your feedback,” they wrote. “The content will be removed from our channels.”
