HOW WOULD AMERICANS LIKE IT IF HAWAIIANS SHOWED THE STATUE OF LIBERTY HOLDING UP A BEER?
Celebrity Cruises will no longer use a magazine advertisement that showed King Kamehameha's statue holding a glass of champagne to promote trips to Hawai`i, the company said.
The ad, which appeared in the trade publication Travel Weekly, caused outrage among Native Hawaiian groups who were insulted by the photo illustration.
"We are terribly sorry that we have offended anyone," said Lynn Martenstein, spokeswoman for Miami-based Celebrity Cruises, a brand of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
"We're horrified that we've been insensitive. ... It was never our intention. We have pulled the ad. It will never run again."
The ad shows King Kamehameha's statue, adorned in multicolored lei, holding an outstretched glass of champagne.
It is similar to statues of King Kamehameha I displayed in Honolulu and Hawai`i Island. He is known for establishing the Kingdom of Hawai`i in 1810.
The ad was created as part of a series by Boston-based agency Arnold Communications that features icons from various tourist destinations, Martenstein said.
