Billboard plans to tell New Jerseyeans it’s a compliment when their state is called ‘The Armpit of America’ [UPDATED]

Will Lerner
·Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

Toiletries brand, Dove, is set to promote a new line of deodorant called Dove Advance Care, which promises to do stuff like, “help beautify armpits.” Ok.Unilever, the company that owns Dove, plans on unveiling a billboard aimed directly at New Jersey Residents this July, as The New York Times reports.

The billboard will read, “Dear New Jersey, When people call you ‘the Armpit of America,’ take it as a compliment. Sincerely, Dove.” Unilever senior marketing director of antiperspirants and deodorants, Matthew McCarthy, said it’s not a burn on the Garden State. He told the Times, “I don’t expect that there will be a lot of people who misunderstand, but to the degree that they do, we’ll be open about what we’re really trying to say. The message that we want to get out there is that the armpit is not a bad thing, and that we stand for caring for the armpit.”

How will New Jersey residents respond? Well, the state is famous for it’s even-keeled, milquetoast manner. For instance, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was voted by his colleagues in the Republican Governors Association as the “most bashful Governor” in the superlatives section of their 2013 yearbook*.

*This is a lie. I just lied. This isn’t real. I’m just kidding. Don’t hate me. I was just having some funnnnnnn.

Let’s try this again. How will New Jersey residents respond? The Times spoke with Jen Drexler, senior vice president of the Insight Strategy Group, who previously had been complimentary of Dove’s efforts to stop casting exceedingly thin supermodels for their promotions. She described it as a “backhanded compliment,” and that with all the state has endured, from Hurricane Sandy to the bridge scandal, “It just feels unnecessary and like it’s kicking New Jersey when it’s down. Give us a break.”

Gothamist reached out to Governor Chris Christie’s office and the NJ Board of Tourism for comment, but didn’t get a response back.

UPDATE: March 5, 2014 6:18AM PST

Or...maybe this won't happen after all:

Unilever's Dove Drops NJ Billboard that Refers to the State as an 'Armpit'

More info: New York Times, Gothamist