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Controversial Legal Sea Foods Ad Targets Hillary Clinton

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In a presidential election year, we're used to being bombarded by political commercials endorsed by the candidates. And to some extent we expect, based on our political affiliations, to be inspired or affronted. This week, an unusually political ad for an otherwise apolitical Boston institution — Legal Sea Foods — has hit a nerve.

The Boston-based restaurant chain ran a full page ad in the Boston Globe yesterday with a picture of Hillary Clinton. The caption read, "We have a term for cold fish. Sushi."

It's part of a larger parody campaign that Legal Sea Foods launched a few months ago, riffing off hot-button political issues like gay rights and marijuana legalization. The ads tout the restaurant chain's president, Roger Berkowitz, as a presidential candidate.

A number of people took to social media yesterday criticizing the ad as sexist and offensive and crossing the line of acceptable humor. We speak to the New York advertising firm that works with Legal Sea Foods and discuss the point of ads like these.

Guests

Ellis Verdi, president of Devito/Verdi, which has been working with Legal Sea Foods. They tweet @devitoverdi.

This segment aired on July 26, 2016.

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