B.C. company apologizes for ’51st state’ reference in ad following online outrage [Video]

A Richmond, B.C., company has apologized after an advertisement in a transit station drew online flak for its reference to the “51st state” amid public annexation threats by the U.S. president.

Vitamin company Herbaland’s ad was featured at the Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain station. The mural displayed a selection of the company’s products set against a maple leaf and large text that read, “Herbaland proudly made in (the 51st state) Canada.” In it, “(the 51st state)” is crossed out in white.

Herbaland’s vitamin gummies are made in Richmond, a Metro Vancouver suburb, and its website bills itself as Canada’s largest nutritional gummy producer.

The ad was taken down Wednesday after online commenters called it “completely unacceptable, even as a joke”, and a marketing professor described the furor as a lesson in timing and tone for companies.

WATCH | 9 in 10 Canadians don’t want to be the 51st state: Polls …