The Twitterverse has been buzzing with some major backlash against a company called
Cappello's. In trying to jump on two trendy bandwagons at once, they produced a video called "Sh*t Gluten Free People Say". For those of you that don't know, this trend started with this video and led to a huge flood of funny and not-so-funny videos. Cappello's video falls into that latter category. Just. Not. Funny.
For those of you that know me, I am on the fence by the recent attention gluten-free is getting. It is great that I can now walk into a supermarket and find some kind of bread/pasta/cracker that I can eat; this wasn't the case when I was first diagnosed in 1981! On the other hand, when celebrities like Elisabeth H. start spewing WRONG information in their plight for the Celiac I think we lose some major credibility. People see gluten-free eating as a fleeting trend and something to poke fun at with unfunny videos. We aren't a trend, we are living with a disease.
This is for real, people. I can't eat gluten, EVER. I don't ask if "this bread is gluten-free" like in the video because I know it isn't. This Cappello's video is just stupid and uninformed on so many levels. GlutenDude, another GF blogger, did a great write up about the
gluten-free boom in the media but I like the comments even more. It shows that we aren't a trend and we speak up for our cause.
What I do like the most in this PR mistake by Cappello's is how the Celiac community once again banded together to make their voices heard. Comments on FB, Twitter, and blogs are flooding in. If you know a Celiac, you know we are NOT a quiet bunch.
Cappello's stepped in a big pile of Celiac sh*t if you ask me. They want us to like them on FB and follow them on Twitter. Now, they want to send me some of their gluten-free pasta. Not sure if that is a wise choice Cappello's, I already have a bad taste in my mouth and it comes directly from you. Do you really want me to publicly review your product?
On a much lighter note, check out this fun and much more well-informed video by Royal Empire Productions. ILL Knowtice, the guy in the black, has Celiac. He gets it and makes this catchy video to prove it.
UPDATE:
Check out the email I got from ILL Knowtice in the above video. Cool guy!
Hello Erin,
Thank you again!
Nothing makes us happier than knowing people are enjoying and sharing our video, it is awesome :) I watched that other video and I understand completely what you mean, it is quite offensive and not very creative or constructive. It's almost as if the uninformed believe being Celiac is some sort of lifestyle decision and not a disease that people have to learn to live with and deal with on a daily basis. I'm glad people are taking our song the correct way, we definately wanted to make people laugh and smile but for positive reasons as well as build awareness for Celiacs in general. I've been dealing with it for less than a year and it has been pretty tough at times, I couldn't imagine my entire life, much love and respect to you! I have noticed our views have increased drastically the past few days so thank you for sharing with your friends and peers, it is very appreciated. We just set up a twitter account last night due to the overwhelming response we have been getting. It started out as a fun little video to spread awareness and it is growing into something we couldn't even have imagined.
Hope all is well with you and please let us know if there is anything we can do to help out on any level. Have a great day
ILL Knowtice
Royal Empire
Labels: celiac, community, PR, video
