Pardon Me, Do You Have Any Hanukkah Ham?
“So… That not kosher?”
Isn’t it bad enough that my people can’t even agree on how to spell the holiday? 
One might expect Balducci’s, the fine food emporium, to know better. After all, they wrote the we’re-not-taking-sides-but-you-should “holiday” menu(s)*:
Balducci’s has everything you need to create a magnificent holiday meal, no matter which holiday you celebrate. Whether it’s an informal Chanukah get-together, an elegant Christmas feast, or even a glamorous New Year’s Eve fete, with our Holiday Entertaining Menu and Ordering Guides you’ll find all the ingredients for a memorable meal.
Ah, but that just shows how thoughtful they can be online. What about when NancyKay Shapiro goes into one of their stores to shop for the “holidays”? Apparently, the product doesn’t match the persona.
Okay, so it’s not like they were marketing this for Ramadan. And maybe I did have a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich for lunch, but that thing was good. (Don’t tell my rabbi.) Besides, a stock room clerk — not a marketing manager — probably made this mistake. Still, it’s important for marketers to be careful with those “holiday” promotions.
Happy Chanukah/Hanukah/Hanukkah**!
(*Which, for some reason, you can only download as a PDF. It looks good, but why not host it on the site? That way, customers could have the option to download, print, or email to a friend.)
(**To anyone for whom that’s relevant.***)
(***Now do you see why George Costanza recommended we all just celebrate “Festivus”?)
[Hat tip to the Good Experience blog.]
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Yeah, I really don’t think marketers would dare make that mistake with Muslims. At least I’d hope not.
Then again, I like sausage every now and then…
Oh, I don’t know. A lot of Muslims I know would laugh at the sign just the same- no big deal. And oy, what a mistake…
[…] laughed out loud when I read Robert Gorell’s post at Grok.com. Basically, a gourmet food store, Balducci’s had this special on […]
I just got a “Happy Hanukkah” email from a friend who didn’t know I blogged this, and attached was this same photo (uncropped, so I know it wasn’t taken from GrokDotCom).
Just goes to show that when your message is off, and it’s FUNNY, word gets around — fast!
I keep wondering, “Could this be a good thing for Balducci’s?” I mean, it’s not like I get offended when people wish me a Merry Christmas. They’re just being nice. They’re trying.
Isn’t this kind of the same thing?
What??? Your not allowed to eat ham during Chanukah?
Outside of the obvious, is that a kippah on top of potato latkes?
Ah, a reference to the “other” holiday menu…
Yes, Jeff, those appear to be some very pious latkes — a festive use of sour cream, so long as you don’t use it to dress the Hanukkah Ham.
[…] December 2007 at 15:25 · No Comments The only thing meaner than Hanukkah ham is Ramadan […]
[…] of mindless, automatic pilot marketing not to pass along. So, here ya go, from Robert Gorell, Pardon Me, Do You Have Any Hanukkah Ham? It’s a short one, so go read […]
Thanks for the information. Now can you please direct me to the Passover bacon?
John,
Yes, we have no Passover bacon (today).
[I never understood that song. Kind of a weird way to say you don’t have bananas. Anyway, if we did have Passover bacon, you can rest assured it would taste like matzah/matzo/matzoh — yet another spelling dispute. Oy.]