Mars Inc., which owns candy and cat food brands – synergy! – must have figured it had a good thing going with its “Sorry, I was eating a Milky Way” campaign, which debuted back in March.
Because a a new holiday ad campaign for Temptations, Mars’s cat-treats brand, is also pro-apology.
When the Milky Way spot first aired, the Chicago Business Journal commented:
Sorry to have to note it, but “sorry” is probably going to strike many American viewers as a bit of an odd turn of phrase because, truth be told, it’s much more commonly heard in Britain, usually when the ever-proper Brits wish to beg forgiveness for a certain behavior that others in close proximity might deem improper.
(“The ever-proper Brits”? Really? Besides, I associate the “sorry” tic with Canadians. Or, well, women.)
In April, linguist Arnold Zwicky blogged about the Milky Way ads:
These are not non-apology apologies (such as those posted about on Language Log and this blog over the years). The apologizers admit that failing to do what was expected of them was wrong, and they take responsibility for this failure. All that is packed into sorry.
But, but, but… the apologizers plead mitigating circumstances, they offer an excuse: they were eating a Milky Way. The candy made them do it.
They might as well have said, with Geraldine, that the devil made them do it. Not an acceptable excuse.
If you don’t know who Geraldine is, read this. And for acute and witty reports on public apologizing, bookmark the Sorry Watch blog, which recently commented on the apologies of Jeb Bush, Lisa Rinna. and the New York Times.
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