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Restaurant Group Irked By Nationwide Ad

A restaurant trade group is insulted by a Super Bowl ad that stars Kevin Federline as a fast-food worker. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.'s 30-second spot shows Federline performing in a music video -- but he is really only daydreaming while cooking French fries. It was called a "strong and direct insult to the 12.8 million Americans who work in the restaurant industry," says National Restaurant Association President and Chief Executive Steven Anderson in a letter to Nationwide chief Jerry Jurgensen.

The commercial gives the impression that working in a restaurant is demeaning and unpleasant, Anderson adds. And he tops it off with a threat: If the insurer airs the spot as planned, his group will "make sure that our membership - many of whom are customers of Nationwide - know the negative implications this ad portrays of the restaurant industry."

A Nationwide exec shrugs off the fuss, saying that there always will be someone who doesn't get a joke. "We're not making fun of anybody, except maybe Kevin Federline," says Steven Schreibman, vice president of advertising and brand management.

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Read the whole story at Associated Press via SFGate.com »

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