Dairy Air cow logo

@nikita_d/Twitter

Ice cream shop’s oversexed cow mascot goes viral

Not all residents are happy about the cow's bare behind.

 

Ana Valens

Internet Culture

Posted on Dec 7, 2017   Updated on May 22, 2021, 8:42 am CDT

An ice cream shop in Montclair, New Jersey, is going viral this week after locals stumbled across the shop’s mascot, which features a cow bending over and showing off her bare rear.

Dairy Air Ice Cream Co. first came under fire after Amy Tingle, a nearby business owner in the town, shared an open letter on Facebook condemning the mascot. That’s because Dairy Air features a blonde anthropomorphic cow with a beret and pigtails in a compromising position as the shop’s primary in-store logo.

“It is offensive and sickening,” Tingle said of the objectified cow, NorthJersey.com reports. “A hyper-sexualized, obviously female cow with her ass upended and poking through a circle, tail raised up, waiting for what? I’m not sure, but I do know that I am repulsed and offended.”

Tingle’s original post, which is now private, also compared the logo to President Donald Trump’s election.

“This kind of marketing scheme is the reason we currently have a sexual predator in the White House,” she argued.

The controversy didn’t stop after Tingle’s letter, either. One report from Montclair Local reveals that the store uses some pretty insensitive rear end puns for its ice cream flavors, including “Bumm Rush,” “Sweet Cheeks and Chocolate,” “Spankin’ Strawberry Moon,” “Muffin-Top Money Maker,” and perhaps most questionable of all, “Oprah’s Favorite Fanny.”

While the ice cream flavors will likely remain a rather uncomfortable family-friendly experience, it looks like the cow’s rear-exposing days will soon be over. Shortly after Dairy Air owner Anthony Tortoriello visited Tingle and her partner to defend himself, store manager Natalie DeRosa revealed the cow will lose some of her sexualization amid the backlash.

“We have heard the complaints,” she said over Facebook, according to NorthJersey.com. “We take them very seriously and we are acting to change the cow to be more fun and less sexy. Our goal was always fun and not sexy.”

That, of course, didn’t stop Dairy Air’s sexy-and-not-fun cow from going viral.

https://twitter.com/andrewkueneman/status/938624682303131650

The whole situation inspired one Twitter user to contact Oprah about her name being used as a flavor.

And one self-starter is even trying to make a name for himself amid all the chaos.

It’s unclear what will happen to the sexy cow once she’s given a rework. But it’s safe to say Dairy Air Ice Cream’s reputation will proceed itself in Montclair, even after the shop’s rear-exposing mascot gets a butt reduction.

Update 11:23am CT, Dec. 14: After ongoing controversy both locally and nationally, the Dairy Air Ice Cream Co. has agreed to modify its mascot. In a press release from Thursday, franchise co-owner Anthony Tortoriello explained that he and his business partner Jeff O’Neill have spoken with others and understand why the logo needs to change.

H/T the Cut

Share this article
*First Published: Dec 7, 2017, 12:29 pm CST