Seafood Chain Runs Ad in the Boston Globe Calling Hillary Clinton a 'Cold Fish'

If we have learned anything from this year's never-ending election cycle, it's that sticking your foot in your mouth isn't necessarily a setback as long you as come out praising the flavor of your boot. In an ongoing ad campaign that began back in March, Legal Seafoods, the Boston-based upscale seafood chain with 35 restaurants around the country, took a page from the Trumpian rhetorical climate, putting that idea to the test with a series of spots of questionable taste.

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The ads, both on television and in print, present company head Roger Berkowitz as an alternative to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in his own #feeltherberk mock campaign for president, with pun-filled promises. "My first act in office will be to legalize sea weed," one poster reads. "What government needs is fewer stuffed shirts and more stuffed shrimp," a TV spot says.

While jokes like that are mostly harmless, other examples, like one that ran as a full page ad in today's Boston Globe, crossed the line.

"We have a term for cold fish," the ad reads, beneath a smirking image of Clinton. "Sushi."

Many who saw the ad criticized it as misogynistic, saying they will no longer patronize the restaurant as a result.

"What a miss for Legal," the Globe's own food editor, Devra First, tweeted. "Worn misogynist tropes aren't clever. Neither is alienating your woman customer base."

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The restaurant came under similar criticism for a previous installment of the series, which read: "If we build a wall on the border who will eat our delicious fish tacos?"

Another ad pointed out that Berkowitz supports the gay community, which is why he serves rainbow trout. A third makes light of the abortion issue. "Some candidates want to limit a woman's right to choose. Not Roger Berkowitz," the voiceover in the spot says. "All I can say is, if you're pro-choice, you'll love how many options we have on our menu."

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Toeing the line, and sometimes stumbling over it, is par for the course for Legal Seafoods, whose advertising firm DeVito/Verdi has been responsible for stirring up controversy in the past. Years ago, a number of advertisements running on the subway in Boston were pulled when they drew the ire of MBTA transit officials. "This conductor has a face like a halibut," read one, spoken in the voice of a "fresh," meaning cheeky, fish. Another round of ads inserted the word "Legal" into the Jesus fish icon. Others have turned on the idea of environmentalism, saying it is important to save the fish so we can eat them.

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"They're not to be taken seriously, obviously," Kelly Durcan, a rep for DeVito/Verdi, told Esquire.

"Most of the advertising for Legal Seafoods is intended to push a button or get a reaction," Durcan said. "It's not intended to piss people off, it's intended to raise their hackles a little bit."

When Berkowitz was reached for comment, he told Esquire, "There were some knee jerk reactions here that were a little stronger than I might've thought." He said the company has long tried to challenge political correctness in their campaigns. "We advertise a little differently, I suppose."

Berkowitz, who calls himself a "registered, dyed-in-the-wool independent," said he always thought of the term "cold fish" as gender-neutral, generally referring to either a man or woman's cold demeanor. "For Hillary, it's not exactly a secret, it's not investigative reporting I'm doing here, that she's not warm and fuzzy," he said.

"But it has nothing to do with her policies or background or anything else, it was just a character trait," Berkowitz added. "People see things from their own lenses, and connect dots that aren't there, assuming it must be this—there must be a political agenda that's trying to be put forth. It couldn't be farther from the truth, to be honest. It was just meant as a backdrop, to take advantage, if you will, of all the politics going on. You have to admit this is an unusual election."

Obviously, if their intention was to get people talking about the restaurant, the team at DeVito/Verdi did a fantastic job—as Trump will tell you, any press is good press. But not necessarily if it actually comes at the expense of supporters. Using a hackneyed, misogynistic, and outmoded term—"cold fish"—to refer to a female candidate for the office of the presidency is right in line with decades of sexist memes and whispers that Clinton's "dead fish" status drove her husband into the arms of other women. It may be red meat for a certain segment of the voting populace, but for Clinton supporters, and supporters of women in general, it is something you never want your seafood to be: rotten.

Editor's Note: Berkowitz was reached for comment after this article was originally published. His comments are additions.