This is nacho typical lawsuit. The Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium, AKA the Italian government agency in charge of producing Parmesan cheese, is considering legal action against renowned adult film site, Pornhub.
What could possibly have prompted this bizarre threat, you may ask? Apparently, the Parmigiano-Reggiano empire is none too pleased about a comparison Pornhub drew in one of its recent advertisements for Pornhub Premium, which launched earlier this month.
The offending ad features a middle-aged couple shopping at a gourmet cheese store, and the man suggests to the woman that they get the aged Parmigiano-Reggiano because people say it’s “the Pornhub Premium of cheeses.”
The point, of course, is to convince Pornhub’s massive user base to splurge on the $9.99/month premium streaming service, which will also feature exclusive content in addition to smoother, more high-quality porn. Choosing to stick with regular, old-fashioned porn is akin, apparently, to settling for Kraft Singles when you could be munching on some fine, aged Parmesan cheese. A harmless and delicious comparison, right? Wrong.
Despite the intended flattery of Parmesan cheese, the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium was less than thrilled to be mentioned in an ad for something as gross as porn. In a statement to The Guardian, they claim that Pornhub “vulgarly aimed at making a profit from the exploitation of the fame gained by Parmigiano-Reggiano.”
They further noted that rather than using the more Americanized term “Parmesan,” the “distasteful and offensive” advertisement chose to specifically call out “Parmigiano-Reggiano” cheese. Lawyers representing the ill-humored association are reportedly trying to find out if they have the grounds to take legal action against Pornhub for tainting the cheese’s previously-wholesome name.
It turns out that in business, as in life, cheese can apparently cause quite the stink.
H/T Munchies | Photo via Paul Kelly/Flickr