Getting Jack in the Box's Commercial "To-Go"

The little blog post that just won't die has picked up steam in recent months. About a year ago, I wrote about a commercial for fast food chain Jack in the Box depicting a guy who is clearly stoned ordering tacos from his van at the JITB drive-thru window. There has been a lively scene in the comments pitting stoners, who think anyone objecting to the ad is just an old fogey trying to harsh their buzz, against people who are outraged by the fact that the ad is still on the air. One anonymous commenter (edited for brevity) just let me know:

The American Lung Assocation, Health Advocates Against Marijuana (H.A.R.M.), several non-profit agencies and local PTAs are staging a sit-in at corporate headquarters to protest this commercial.JITB promised viewers last fall they would stop airing this particular commercial. Yet it came back with the SuperBowl and is seen nightly on local channels.Interesting,considering Jack in the Box's own code of conduct (p. 4, 15, 16)http://www.jackinthebox.com/investors/pdfs/codeofconduct.pdfContact JITB and let them know that drug use is not "humorous" as they claim.Ms. Linda Lang, CEO Jack in the Box, 9330 Balboa Avenue, San Diego 92123, (858) 571-2121

No information on when the sit-in is happening, though it was generally mentioned in a recent news story about the organizations' demand that the commercial be pulled. According to the report, their main concern is that the commercial promotes pot smoking. My issue has always been with the fact that the commercial shows someone driving under the influence of drugs.

Jack in the Box's response? "Our commercials are intended to present information on our products or promotions in a fun, entertaining way. Our goal with this ad was to suggest that our tacos are an affordable and delicious way to satisfy one's appetite." Completely unresponsive. Except to the Stoner-American population.

Given that advertisers have been compelled by various advocacy groups to pull commercials off the air left and right, Jack in the Box should take these concerns seriously.

If anyone from the ALA, HARM or other San Diego organization participating in the sit-in has information on the scheduled date and time, please let me know and I will post it here. For anyone else who thinks this ad should be off the air, get in touch with JITB at the address/phone above or use their online comment form.

In case you have not seen the spot yet, here it is: