A new hip-hop-themed bakery in Indiana is causing controversy with its menu item names and marketing tactics.
The cookie plug accepts reactions
The California-based Cookie Plug franchise recently opened a new location in Indianapolis, Ind. But not everyone feels the names of the company's menu items and the use of marketing. Many of the sweets have hip-hop-themed names and brands, including an ice cream sandwich labeled So So Icy. The company's packaging includes slogans such as “Thank you for supporting your neighborhood baker.” They also sell a purple lemonade called “Purple Drake”, which is a play on the nickname for liquid codeine and promethazine.
The site has received backlash from local residents, including Feeray Phillips who called out the owners for their shenanigans.
“When the franchise doesn't know what the jargon they're dealing with and, to be honest, the tropes as gimmicks to sell people lemonade and kids lemonade, that's a problem,” Phillips told local news network WISHTV.
Cookie Plug co-owner Doreen Walters takes issue with the negative review. “These comments are hurtful so I don't even watch it,” he replied. “I grew up in this era and I've never done drugs. 'Purple drank' is just that, 'purple drank'. It's lemonade.”
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Hip-Hop Culture Vultures
Defined as someone outside the culture who infiltrates it for the sole purpose of exploitation and profit, the debate about culture vultures in hip-hop has been constant. Over the years, entities like record labels have been accused of doing just that. It's not just companies. Individuals are also stamped with the cultivation vulture tag. Earlier this year, Dame Dash called out music executive Lyor Cohen with allegations of culture vulture. Most recently, Kendrick Lamar accused Drake of being a culture vulture in his hit song “Not Like Us.”
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See the Cookie Plug ads below.
