A Candy Store Tried to Use the 'Black Lives Matter' Campaign to Sell Caramel Apples

Every now and then, common sense fails us.

Recall, if you will, the Washington, DC-based creamery Milk Cult, which found itself in the middle of a controversy after it released a Thai-inspired flavor alliteratively dubbed "Bangkok Brothel." Making light of the dodgy Southeast Asian sex economy might not have den Milk Cult's intention, but the company was compelled to apologize for the error of its ways.

More recently, there was the case of a Michigan sausage company that realized it was high time to remove the Confederate Flag emblazoned on its "Rebel Hot" Polish sausages. And don't forget the Manhattan pizzeria that landed itself in hot water after advertising a chicken and watermelon pie called "Pik-A-Nika," which a number of people thought sounded like a racist epithet.

And the latest entrant into the pantheon of Idiotic Ways to Market Food is Minnesota's Largest Candy Store, which is exactly what it sounds like. Located on Highway 169, just outside the small town of Jordan, the massive store is filled with more than 3,000 varieties of candy, as well as apple pies and confections from an adjacent apple farm.

In the spirit of autumn, the store thought it would make good sense to advertise its caramel apple offerings on its roadside billboard. The slogan? "JOIN THE MOVEMENT #CARAMELAPPLESMATTER"

While caramel apples may matter, that didn't sit well with some people who felt that it was boneheaded appropriation of the Black Lives Matter campaign. A number of commenters took to the store's Facebook page to air their outrage (the post has since been deleted). "I love candy and caramel apples, but the co-optation of #blacklivesmatter to promote your store and to sell them is problematic and racist as hell," wrote one user. "The candy tastes like racism. Take down the sign and apologize," wrote another. The conversation eventually devolved into a debate over the merits of Black Lives Matter itself, rather than caramel apples.

Was the sign actually racist? Not really. Was it dumb? Oh, you betcha.

The store has acknowledged that much. Owner Robert Wagner told a local CBS affiliate, "If any offense was taken, and clearly there was, you know, we want to get beyond that and we apologize for it. I could stand here and make all kinds of excuses, but at the end of the day it was a mistake."

The sign was up for less than two days, and has since been removed.