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Nothing says "Respect" for the rarely intertwined realms of surf culture and African-American civil rights than a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day-themed sale. Unfortunately, the promotion was a total wipeout at Laguna Beach's Thalia Surf Shop, according to CBS2, and yesterday the business issued an apology for their misguided marketing.
Using an ad featuring a "digitally altered" image of the slain civil rights leader wearing a wet suit, Thalia hoped to draw in hoards of Hang Ten-ers to buy their "black-colored products, such as wet suits and T-shirts," at 20 percent off.
"It's our slow time of the year, so we're always getting creative," owner Nick Cocores told the OC Register. "We're definitely not trying to bum anybody out," he added, after noting that the shop is frequented by people of all backgrounds from multiple generations.
Most of the feedback, particularly as posted on the store's Facebook page, was positive, however Cocores issued an apology on their blog: "In no way did we intend to hurt or offend anyone. For those that took offense or disrepect we truly are sorry. We took down the ad for our sale to hopefully calm the waters and in the future will be more careful in our selection of promotions."
