Are you guys familiar with this story? The short version is that a billboard gained lots of attention for displaying a tea kettle that people said looked like [redacted] something else I heard about it last week on the radio, and rolled my eyes at the idea and thought it was utterly ridiculous anyone could see [this other thing] in a tea kettle. I chalked Penney's response (removing the billboard, getting rid of the product, and apologizing) up as a major overreaction, evidence of their kowtowing to political correctness.

Today, though, I happened to come across a story about this that included a picture (linked below). And I have to admit, it really does look like [this other thing] to me. I am pretty sure I would have made that connection even if I hadn't heard about this already. I also sought out images of the full billboard to make sure that seeing it out of context like that wasn't coloring my perception of it. I think I would have done a double-take if I'd been driving along and seen that image on a billboard. I have to admit, it's kind of changed my opinion on the matter. Maybe that makes me a hypocrite. Mind you I'm not offended, and I doubt very much that it was intentional. But once it was called to their attention, I think it was appropriate for them to at least remove the billboard and product.

What do you think? Does it look like [something else] to you? Were they right in pulling the kettle and apologizing? Or do you think it's just ridiculous?

Here's a link to the article. Read it after you've viewed the image, if you aren't already familiar with the story.

http://tinyurl.com/lrpc7r9